Warning: May Answer Back
by JohnPaulGeorgeandRingo
Summary: After a meeting with Mystique, Rogue and Gambit are now mischievous four year olds with a nose for trouble. Logan learns that he's a father, Storm takes a shine to little Remy and the mansion is turned upside down. AU
1. I study Female Anatomy

**_Okay, so a while ago I started another Evolution story that I grew to hate... Yes, hate. I tried my best to re-write it, really I did, but it still didn't work for me. So, I deleted it without a word and I felt a little bad for those that actually liked it because I did leave the ending hanging. _**

**_Back to the present day, I've written this and I'm a lot more comfortable with posting it. It's a plot bunny that's been hopping around my head for quite some time now and I had to write it before I turned insane. I'm partially insane already, but would rather not commit myself fully to a way of life before I've researched it in detail... LOL_**

**_I won't ramble any longer, I just hope that you like what I've written so far and happily anticipate the next chapter. _**

**_This is a struggling single daddy story. There are also ROMY moments and a splash of other characters. It's an AU... And I think that's all you need to know. Any questions, feel free to ask me. _**

* * *

**I Study Female Anatomy**

The wild torrent of rain had gradually been building into the storm of the century, for days the city has been pummelled, thrashed and whaled upon by the elements. The clouds no longer resembled cotton candy, they now hung sombrely in the overcast sky obscuring the sun and weighing heavily on those minds that pondered where their summer had vanished to.

Whilst the grumblings and complaints of the residents of Bayville had readily been sympathised by the rest of the country, one young mutant had no qualms about walking through the streets, her Doc Martin boots ankle deep in tears shed by the angels crying for her soul.

Rogue was many things; a loner, rebellious, headstrong, sometimes smart, awkward in her own skin, lost and alone. But this mission was going to define the girl that people were forever mislabelling, she was going to clash with a face from her past, and most importantly she was going to receive answers.

Turning the corner, her sodden boots squelching in the mud, she scowled as she heard a familiar voice excitedly calling her name twenty three times in a row. Her head snapping around, she pointed a gloved finger at the person stood before her, the rain separating them by a hairs breadth.

"What the heck are ya doin' here?" Rogue snarled, conscious of her voice softening a little as her eyes met his.

Remy LeBeau rocked back and forth on his feet, his arms swinging by his sides and cocked his head a little. "I be studyin' _Chere_." He replied simply, his eyes paying close attention to the two perfectly rounded lumps on her chest. "Did y'notice dat your top is see through?"

Gazing down at her own body, she cursed angrily and crossed her arms. "Quit starin' Swamp Rat!"

"Aw, but Gambit's gotta study."

"Ya ain't gotta brain, so how can ya be studyin?"

Remy smirked at her attitude, stepped closer and whispered huskily in Rogue's ear. "Remy be studyin' female anatomy an' he found de perfect specimen in de river rat."

She felt herself blush, not only because his lips were leaving a trail of want but her mind was replaying the last words that Kitty had said to her this morning. _'Remy like really loves you! I totally can't wait until you guys get together, we can double date.'_

Kitty was obviously clinically insane, she lived in a Barbie bubblegum coated pink world where everyone had their prince charming, walked down the streets hand in hand and lived happily ever after. Rogue being the one with the common sense in the friendship quickly dismissed Kitty's ridiculous thoughts and shoved Gambit roughly away from her.

"Ah'm busy Gambit, now leave." She hissed, turning on her battered rubber soles and walking towards an alleyway.

"Y'ain't busy _Chere, _y'meetin' Mystique."

For the second time in minutes his voice hastily stopped her in her tracks. "How do ya know?"

"Gambit makes it his business t'know what his _Chere's_ doin' wit' her day." He replied, fumbling in his pocket for a cigarette and frowning when he was unable to light it in the rain. "Especially when it be dangerous an' she should be in chemistry class."

She only gawked at him whilst he threatened to charge the cigarette if it refused to light. Sighing to herself, Rogue kept her arms folded over her chest and waited for the Cajun to finish arguing with his packet of smokes. "Ah ain't got all day, Rems."

"Y'called me Rems, does dat mean you're attracted t'Remy? Y'finally noticed dat I be seriously packin' didn't you? An' I weren't talkin' bout de cigarettes, girl... Remy has quite de talent wit' words and de women. "

Now that was an interesting development, here they were both standing in a torrential down pour and the swamp rat was excited over her using his actual name. She figured that he would probably spontaneously combust if she were to call him 'Remy Etienne LeBeau sex God and all round handsome good guy.'

Raising an eyebrow she fixed him with an unwavering glare. "You're a stalker too."

"Dat hurts _Chere,_I just be attracted t'all de _filles _dat walk around wit' a see though top on. Y'be de fourth Remy's seen today, he really likes dis type o'weather."

"Mah bad, you're a perverted stalker." And with that she marched into the alleyway, it was almost two and Mystique was going to swoop in on her broom any minute now. There was just something about the woman that kept drawing Rogue to her. She hated the blue mutant but the offer of a face to face talk with a chance of finding out about her birth parents was just too good to pass up.

"Piss off swamp rat." She grumbled, a set of heavy footsteps falling into sync with hers. "Ah don't need tah be protected."

"Ain't here t'protect y'jus' like de look of de wet jeans huggin' y'hips."

"Ah hope ya plannin' on takin' a course in flirtin' 101 too, cause' ya really suck at it."

"Oh, we be flirtin'?" He drawled, smiling lecherously at her. "_Merde_, Remy should've stolen de kitty cat's wallet again, dere's a _Holiday Inn_ down de road. Dey have a sauna wit' our name on it."

Why she even bothered to have a conversation with the idiot, she didn't know. The swamp rat had such a one tracked mind, it put the likes of serial masturbators to shame and forget about the porn lovers, Gambit had one heck of a problem.

* * *

"Don' look like she's comin' _Chere._ Y'wanna come back t'Gambits place?"

Why hadn't Mystique bothered to show? Didn't she like flying her broom during low visibility? Maybe witches didn't like to get their hair wet or she thought that people might start throwing rocks at her due to her hideously ugly face. Raven Darkholme was always ugly, why would the rain change anything? Oh, maybe the rain causes some kind of adverse reaction to her already ugly face?

"Ah'm sure ya won't mind if ah turn ya perverted ass down." Rogue replied, not waiting for an answer she stomped out of the alleyway. Ignoring the looks of passersby with their umbrellas and rain coats on, she took a deep breath and rolled her eyes; it was time that she returned to the mansion to face the music.

Today had been the fifth time in two weeks that she had skipped class, and taken off into the city to do her own thing. Which would mean the Professor would be disappointed, Scott and Jean would attempt to lecture her and she'd be doing extra chores for the next month. Her only saving grace was that since the X-men had disbanded and all mutants had decided to lay low, Logan had hung up his uniform and opened a bar in Bayville. His grueling, ass breaking and punishing Danger room sessions were almost a thing of the past.

She hadn't seen much of Logan this past month or so. He was either busy with his latest venture, tinkering with his motor cycle or working out on his own. It had hit him hard when X-23 had left after only a month of living at the mansion and she guessed he was working through his emotions the only way he knew how... By opening a bar, kicking the crap out of mean drunks and spending as little time around the students as he could.

Rogue dodged passed a woman who was apparently a member of the botox club. Her forehead was draw so tightly across her face, she looked as though she had lost a fight with a giant staple gun. The young mutant couldn't help but snort as she caught a glimpse of her attire, the woman obviously had now shame in exposing her breasts for attention either. Her blond hair was swept tightly into a bun, and a pair of diamond earrings sparkled in her ears.

It was then that Rogue stopped, blinked a dozen times and her jawed dropped.

"I suppose I'm late," The woman announced with a tight smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "But you could have waited a while longer, I am your mother after all."

She knew the person standing in front of her all to well and it sickened her. Mystique had transformed into the body that the little girl inside her would always call her Mama. This blond haired floozy with the bleached hair, pale blue eyes and tight fitting jacket, and grey pencil skirt was the woman that had taken care of her when she was small.

The rage silently simmered under her skin. "Ya more then late." She shot back with a glare, the insults dancing on the tip of her tongue.

"There's no need to be rude, Anna."

"Don't call meh that."

Mystique appeared to frown (Rogue couldn't be one hundred percent sure due to the botox) and adjusted her jacket. "Fine. Follow me."

She marched away without another word and Rogue hesitated. Her instincts were screaming for her not to follow the wicked witch of Bayville down the alleyway, but the curiosity was suffocating her mind. She shrugged to herself and quickly followed, what could Mystique do anyway?

* * *

They both stood opposite each other in an empty warehouse, the sound of the rain falling heavily on the tin roof. Rogue shivered slightly against the coldness and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Why here?" She demanded, not quite trusting the mutant standing before her.

"Why not?" Was her immediate reply. "You said that you wanted to talk somewhere quiet. So, how have you been?"

Yeah, she had said _quiet_, but she hadn't meant creepy and abandoned too. "Ah ain't here for small talk, Mystique."

Raven tapped her foot in quick succession, the noise from the black stiletto echoing off the brick walls. "Oh, well please do tell. Why are we here?"

This was the moment that Rogue had been working towards for months now. She had been tirelessly researching her birth parents in the public library, snatching moments at night with her laptop in the kitchen and dropping subtle hints to the Professor. All that had been in vain because the only person that held the key to her past was the woman that she despised, the woman that was standing impatiently in front of her.

Rogue cleared her throat and took a deep breath. "Ah want tah find mah birth parents." She declared, glaring at her adoptive mother.

Mystique almost looked taken aback at the declaration. She stopped tapping her foot and shook her head. "Anna..."

"Ah told ya not tah call me that! It ain't even mah real name!"

"Yes it is! Anna Marie, that's what your mother named you. As soon as she held you in her arms, she chose the name and promised that she would always be there for you. Your mother had already given birth twice and failed, but as soon as she met her daughter for the first time she..."

Raven's voice began to crack with emotion and Rogue's eyes widened. "How... How'd ya know all that, Mystique?" She asked, knowing all to well what the answer was, but refusing to except it.

Mystique nodded her head at her questioning look. "I met someone, had a one night stand and you were born nine months later."

"No, no way. This can't be happenin', you're lyin'."

Rogue wished that she had stayed at school, gone to her science class, even visited Gambit's apartment. Anything would have been better then standing here, teary eyed and sick to her stomach. "Ya used me for mah powers, played with mah head, ya hated meh!"

"I never hated you." Raven gasped, coming towards her with open arms. "You have to believe me, Anna. I never hated you."

"Then what was it?" She growled, slapping her mother's hands away from her and slowly backing away. "Ya gave away Kurt and that other kid, did ya want tah do the same with meh!"

"You just reminded me of your father, you looked so much like him. You even had his attitude, you still do. But I never hated you, never."

She didn't believe her, she couldn't believe her... This was Mystique and she was Rogue. They could never have a relationship after what had happened. Mothers never acted that way to their children, she had lied constantly and... Who the heck was her father?

"Mah dad, who is he?"

Raven's hands fell to her sides and she dubiously twisted the gold ring around her index finger. "I always thought he was rude, obnoxious and loud, but I suppose he had his good points. He probably would have made a greater parent then me." Her left hand slipped into her pocket and she pulled an object out. "You might have turned out better if he had raised you."

It was though realization was suddenly dawning on Mystique and that worried the girl. Rogue attempted to peer at the partially obscured object in her hands, but was unable to see it clearly. "What was his name?"

"In all these years he never suspected a thing. Even when you moved into the mansion, he still didn't put two and two together."

She began to turn the key around anti-clockwise, muttering under her breath. The object was egg shaped and would have fit perfectly in her palm. There were strange letters carved into the stone and it was starting to rattle in her hand.

Rogue was busy recovering from her recent discoveries to utter a single word, she was rooted to the spot. There was only one man in the mansion that would fall under Mystique's description and it sure as hell weren't the Professor. "Logan..." She whispered, shaking her head and cursing. "No, you've got it all wrong. He would have told meh, he would've wanted to be part of mah life."

"I always thought he was smart, but maybe I'm giving him too much credit." Raven sighed, dropping the stone like egg to the ground and turning her back on her daughter.

"Wait, where are ya goin'?"

"When you're older you'll understand, Anna. You might even forgive me one day."

With one last glance over her shoulder, Mystique shape shifted into a black raven and flew out of the gaping hole in the roof.

Against her better judgment, Rogue advanced closer to the stone and was mesmerized by it's brilliant shimmer. The fury she felt towards her parents began to evaporate from her mind and she felt at peace, the serenity washing over her.

Heavy footsteps skidded to a halt behind her, and a worried voice ordered her to snap out of it. "C'mon, _Chere, _you're better den this, fight it." Remy begged, his hands finding her shoulders. "I should never have let y'walk away, y'always find trouble. _Merde,_ Is it just me or is dat thing floatin'?"

His gaze flickered to the object whirling high above their heads and he smirked cockily. "Don' worry y'pretty lil' head over dis Rogue, Gambit's got it all under control." Those words died on his lips when a burst of light blinded them both and they slumped to the ground unconscious.

The object dropped out of the sky, and Mystique strolled in through the enormous warehouse doors, a satisfied smile tugging at her lips. Looking down at the sleeping body of her baby girl, she noted the way the light shimmered over her body, almost crackling. Then she spotted Gambit and the playing card still gripped tightly in his hand. "You stupid boy," She told him, his body shrinking and his back arching in front of her very eyes.

The years rolled off both Anna and Remy, they sunk into their five-times-two-big clothes and the light immediately vanished. The heel to Raven's stiletto hovered over the curious object and she stamped on it, visibly relaxing as her shoe crushed the device into ashes.

Picking the small body of her daughter off the cold ground, she hugged her close. "I think it's high time I pay a visit to your daddy."


	2. I'm With Stupid

_**Quite a few people are adding this story to their favourites and alerts. Just to let you know that I always read your profiles because I'm extremely nosey and thanks for doing so. **_

_**3Blue3Moon3 - Thank you for reviewing. I hope you meant odd in a good way, and I can just imagine Gambit as an old man. He'd be the randy one in the corner of the pub checking out all the girls young enough to be his granddaughter. I also noticed that you like the number 3...**_

_**ady_ell - Whoa, whoa, wait. Back up. You actually did that to your profile! *Hits head on table* I just noticed it this second and I already miss your old user name. Anyway, yes, they were changed into kids. I hope that part wasn't too confusing for people, but I wanted to leave the ending like that, just so I could explain further in the next chapter. Logan always has to be a father figure in the Evo-verse. I can't have it any other way, it's just wrong... And he's not Hugh Jackman ;) You should know by now that I always write Remy as a pervert, it seems to fit his persona so well. Thanks for the review! **_

* * *

**I'm With Stupid**

Once in a blue moon Logan suffered from a niggling issue that annoyed him to no end. It was as though he had taken leave of his senses and developed a personality that reeked of self doubt.

He was beginning to wonder if opening this bar had been a huge mistake on his part. Sure, it was something he had always pictured himself doing, the place was doing pretty well, and the cash was rolling in. But, there was something still missing in his life. Something that he couldn't put his finger on, or maybe didn't want to admit to himself.

He had been slightly put out when X-23 had left without a word. There was a hastily scrawled note left on her bed, the few possessions she owned were gone and the doors to her balcony were open. The kid had hightailed it out of the mansion in the dead of night, and he hadn't even realised until the next morning.

There wasn't any attempt at staging a scene, she hadn't been kidnapped, there was a single scent in her room and it was hers.

Logan had initially been furious at himself for not detecting her plans sooner. He even tracked her scent as far as the end of the road before turning back and collecting his bike. If the girl wanted to take off, who was he to stand in her way? There was no doubt in his mind that X-23 could take care of herself, and he knew they'd cross paths again. So, ignoring the instinct to find her, drag her back by her hair and lock her in the Danger room, he had attacked four trees with his claws instead.

That day during one of his motor cycle rides through the city, he'd stumbled onto this place with a for sale sign hanging outside and the rest was history.

Now he spent his days arguing with his suppliers, fighting with loud mouthed drunks, changing barrels and trying not to impale every idiot that walked through the door.

A young girl he had recently hired and who seemed to be scared stiff of him loitered outside the small back office where he kept the files, made business calls and kept himself busy with thoughts of heading up north. Maybe getting out of the rat race for a few weeks wasn't such a bad idea?

Slouching back in his leather chair, he eyed her shadow for a moment and sighed. "If this isn't an emergency, I really don't need to know."

The girl jumped at the sound of his voice and edged closer to the door way. "I know and I'm sorry for disturbing you but," She almost looked on the verge of tears and tucked a loose strand of auburn hair behind her ear. "There's someone here to see you."

"Tell them I'm busy."

"I did."

Pushing the paperwork to one side, Logan quickly scanned the girls face. There were plenty of reasons why he'd hired her in the first place. She'd just turned twenty one, had a head for numbers, she wanted to earn her way and could pour the perfect pint of beer. Unfortunately the girl who's name he couldn't remember was afraid of her own shadow, had broken eight plates so far and always smelt like fear and her pet dog.

"Then why you here?" He asked her gruffly and trying in vain to keep his cool.

"The woman said she wouldn't leave until… Until you stopped hiding and came out to talk to her." The last part of the sentence was rushed and uttered with wide eyes.

Logan raised both eyebrows at the girl and snorted. He didn't know any women that would want to hold a civil conversation with him, that much was certain. "The same still goes," He replied with a shake of his head and turned back to his paperwork. "Go tell her I'm busy."

The girl… Sarah, Sally, Sandy, Cindy or Sydney walked away and he hoped that would be the end of it. They both had jobs to do today and it was only a few hours until the night-time crowd turned his bar into a zoo.

Punching a set of numbers into the calculator, he jotted down a few notes and smirked to himself. Maybe buying this bar wasn't such a bad idea after all. He wasn't just breaking even month after month, Logan was making such a profit that he could easily afford to plate his claws with twenty four carat gold and the finest of diamonds.

Not that that would ever happen of course. Just because the X-Men had officially disbanded and most mutants had gone their separate ways, he was still the same guy with the same attitude… Just richer, much richer.

Logan was all for cracking open an ice cold beer and shooting a game of pool until a familiar and unwanted scent caused his hackles to rise. Growling evenly under his breath, a set of claws emerged from his knuckles and he jumped to his feet ready to pounce.

That was until Mystique strolled into his office blonde, beautiful and with a smile that was scarcely used for him. "You can put those ugly claws away for a start and I suggest that you hire staff that aren't so stupid in the future." She informed him, gazing around the office in disgust and dragging a finger across a shelf. "Don't you ever dust in here?"

He blinked, scratched his jaw and slipped out of his fighting stance. "What the hell are you doin' here?"

"That's the second rude greeting I've had today." Raven complained airily, walking to him and wiping her dusty finger down the front of his shirt.

Wolverine raised an eyebrow and growled at her. "Only the second?" He quipped, sheathing his claws. "Your standards are slippin'…" He sniffed once, twice and three times. There wasn't only one scent in the room that he recognised, there were two others mixed with Mystique's and one in particular made him see red. "Stripes…" He snarled, his claws immediately unsheathing.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about." She responded with the wave of her hand. "I suppose it would be better if you come and see for yourself."

Still growling and considering murdering the mutant that had once shared his bed, he stared in amazement when she marched away from him. "Hey!" He barked, snatching his battered brown leather jacket off the chair and jogging after her. "Raven!"

* * *

He found her leaning against her car, inspecting her perfectly manicured nails and waiting patiently for him. "My cuticles were never this bad before I had children." She muttered to herself.

The sun was beginning to set and the air was cool against Logan's face as he made his way over to her. He only wanted to know where Rogue was, that was all. If she told him that then he wouldn't be forced into tearing her to shreds. It was simple, almost too simple.

"Where's Rogue?" He demanded, his eyes narrowing dangerously and coming to a stop in front of her.

Raven glanced up and frowned. "Her name is Anna Marie." She informed him, a set of car keys jingling in her hands. "And seeing as you're her father, I think you should at least make an effort to remember her name."

Wolverine choked on his tongue and was lost for words. Words that weren't considered vulgar, indecent, rude, threatening or expletive. He was paling faster by the second and gulped several times. He couldn't be a father, he wasn't ready to be a father and one quick look inside the car and he swore under his breath… Damn it, he was a father. Suddenly it all made sense to him. The connection he felt with the girl, the way she reminded him of Mystique when she flew into a temper, he'd slept with her mother and she had his attitude.

A young kid with a white stripe through her hair and a stuffed dog on her lap slept peacefully in the back seat of the car. He didn't need to ask Raven about Stripes any longer, his nose had already told him all that he needed to know. The small girl in the red and blue poker dot dress was Rogue, their scents were identical.

"What the f-"

"Logan," Raven warned, pushing the door closed a little and shooing him away from the car. "I don't need her learning those vulgar terms of yours."

"Damn it, Raven!" He bellowed, balling his fists at his side and beginning to pace. "I had a kid all this time, you don't bother mentionin' it. Now you've done God knows what to her and you're actin' like nothings happened."

"I did what I thought was best."

"Yeah, for who?"

She glowered at that. "Do you really think you were ready for fatherhood seventeen years ago? Logan, you were a mess. Always fighting, and drifting from one place to another. You didn't stay in the same town for more then a week."

"I would have changed." He snapped back, bordering on the brink of losing his infamous temper. "Why's she like that and how'd we change her back?"

Mystique stared at him coldly and smoothed the wrinkles out of her skirt. "I told you I did what I thought was best. And before you start, yes the effects are permanent. That goes for both Anna and Gambit." She spat the last word out of her lips like it was poison.

"Why the Gumbo?"

Part of him, a very small part of him could understand why she would do this to Stripes, not that he was happy about it at all. But, why in the hell had she dragged that good for nothing Cajun into this mess?

"He wasn't part of my plan, he must have been stalking her again."

He peered through the window and caught sight of a boy wrapped in Gambit's coat and scrubbed a hand over his tired face. This was going to take a lot of explaining to his family back in the Big Easy and he sure as hell weren't the one to do it.

"Where'd you get the dress and the toy?" Logan questioned her with a grimace.

He knew full well that the girl he knew wouldn't have been caught dead in those clothes. Yet, he wondered why she was dressed and that knuckleheaded Cajun wasn't.

"I bought if for her weeks ago and that was her favourite toy when she was small. She would never go to sleep without it." A ghost of a smile lit up his former sleeping partners face and he groaned in frustration. She'd had this all planned from the start and once again, Logan had no idea what had been happening under his nose.

"Get in the car. We're goin' to the mansion."

* * *

Drowning out the sounds of an excited Hank launching himself into another explanation heavy with medical jargon that went over his head, Logan stood by the infirmary. His arms crossed over his chest, he leaned against the wall.

He now had two girls that were counting on him for protection and he'd failed them both. Granted that he hadn't know about either of them from the very start, he had still fallen short of his job to keep them out of harms way.

One might have been a clone and the other a kid who until recently was a seventeen year old with a chip on her shoulder, Mystique as her mother and had inherited all his bad points… Jesus, he supposed they were lucky Rogue wasn't worse.

If she had just stayed in class, none of this would have happened. This was probably all his fault for winding down his Danger room sessions and avoiding the mansion. The students tended to get lazy when they thought he wasn't monitoring their every move.

"This really is amazing." Beast chuckled to his small audience and clapped his enormous blue hands together. "Both our Rogue and Gambit have aged backwards with no ill effects whatsoever. They're both still unconscious, but apart from that they're as fit an any other four year old."

"And without their mutations still being intact, you say?" The Professor asked the doctor, looking pensively from his wheelchair. "How extraordinary."

"You scan their heads, Charles?" Logan queried through knitted brows.

"Yes, and their minds beyond the age of four have been wiped clean. All their memories, everything has vanished."

Wolverine scowled in the direction of Mystique. "Hope you're happy with yourself."

"As a matter of fact, I am." She scoffed, standing from her chair. "I did what was best for my daughter and none of you can tell me anything different. She has a new start in life thanks to me."

Before Logan had the chance to really lay into her, Storm poked her head around the door and cleared her throat. "They're both waking up."

* * *

Logan kept his distance from the bed, and observed the events from a safe place. He was surprised at Mystique's change in demeanour as she happily chatted away with her daughter… _their daughter_. The smiles on both their faces, especially Rogue's was bizarre to say the least, he couldn't remember the last time he had seen her smile like that.

Gumbo was an entirely different story. After shouting for ten minutes straight for a list of names longer then his damn arm. Storm had finally managed to calm him with a small hug and the promise of a cookie. The boy was now giggling every time he pulled Hanks fur and the older mutant yelped in pain.

Suddenly a sharp cry from Stripes bed caught his attention and he watched Mystique kiss the girl on the head and a whisper goodbye. There he was silently commending the damn woman, and there she was acting like a heartless bitch again.

Sliding off the bed and dropping her toy to the floor, Anna held onto her mothers legs. "Mama, no!" She sobbed, her tiny fingers tangling around the fabric of the skirt. "Don't go!"

Raven gazed down at the weeping girl, and patted her head. "Anna, sweetie, you're staying with your dad now. So come on, let Mama's skirt go." She told her without a hint of emotion.

That was definitely news to him, he mused idly. Although, she was probably better off with him if this was the way that Raven acted. Even Logan felt a tug on his heartstrings when the little girl shook her head and great wracking sobs overtook her small body.

"Anna Marie, you need to let go this instant." Mystique ordered sternly, acutely aware that everyone in the room was staring at them. When the four year old Rogue refused to listen, she prised the fingers off of her skirt and glanced fleetingly at Logan. "I need to leave now."

He knew it was coming, but he didn't realise just how loud it was going to be. "NO!" Anna screeched through the snot and tears making his ears ring. She dived once more for her mother and he had had enough.

In four long strides he was beside the pair and captured the crying Rogue with a single arm around her waist. Lifting her up, he held her tightly and caught sight of the anguish in Raven's eyes. They exchanged looks for a second or two and she mouthed a "Thank you" to him.

He nodded his head curtly in reply, watching her leave the room.

Turning his attention to the thrashing girl still in his arms, he sighed under his breath. "You're stayin' right here, kid." He told her under no illusions that she actually heard him. The girl must have been throwing the biggest tantrum of the century.

"Ah want mah Mama!"

There was no way that he could handle this all on his own. She obviously wanted her mother, not him. This screaming girl wasn't _his Stripes_, Mystique had severed that relationship and he was left to pick up the damn pieces.

He called Storm over and dumped Anna in her arms. "Logan, where are you going?"

Wolverine didn't hang around to answer her. For the second time tonight he ran after Raven and finally caught up with her by the elevator. She had already shape shifted into her normal form, the blue skin and yellow eyes glowing under the heavy duty lighting.

"What do you want now?" She said coolly, her eyes darting everywhere but his face.

"What are you playin' at?" He shot back, pointing a finger in her face. "You did this to her, you deal with the consequences."

The tears threatened to fall from her eyes and Mystique smiled grimly. "I really have been giving you too much credit all these years, Logan. How stupid are you exactly?"

"Excuse me?"

"I've done all this so she can grow up in a family environment. I want her to be someone, not end up like us. And don't forget the part you played in all this."

He could still hear the sounds of an angry Anna attempting to free herself from Storm and glared hatefully at the woman in front of him. "I didn't know about her."

"You keep saying that but we both know you had your doubts. I saw the way you looked at her sometimes. It was always in the back of your mind." Raven replied severely, stepping into the elevator. "Just keep her our daughter safe." She pressed a button and the doors began to slide shut. "Oh, and watch out. She's a biter."

The metallic doors clattered shut and he was left to ponder her words. He had never consciously thought that Rogue was anything more then a simple student that he took under his wing. Subconsciously, anything could have happened without his full knowledge.

He just hoped that his bar was in safe hands with Sarah, Sally, Sandy, Cindy, Sydney or whatever the damn girl's name was. Because the ways things were shaping up, he was going to be stuck here for a good while yet.

Seriously though, was she really his daughter?

"Ouch, Rogue, no!" He overheard Storm say firmly from the medical bay, quickly followed by a childlike growl.

Yep, there was no doubt about it, his girl was a real chip off the old block.

* * *

**Yes, I know that Remy really didn't feature in this chapter, but I promise he will next time. I needed to focus a little more on the whole Logan and Raven thing. It probably seems that everyone is just readily accepting this turn of events. That's not the case though, and if I'd kept on writing it would have been three times as long!**


	3. Don't Give Me Your Attitude

_**Roguelover321 - I present you with more.**_

_**starlight2twilight - Long time no hear, speak, type, laugh or see. Of course no-one is concerned or upset :P They all know what Remy's like... LOL! You can count on the bonding time.**_

_**ady-ell - I always thought Rogue was a biter in every sense.**_

_**3Blue3Moon3 - Yes. I love the Beatles. I haven't even decided on that girl's name. My indecision equals Logan's forgetfulness. I've tried to rip the Britishness from my brain, but it hurt too much... The separation anxiety was the worst.**_

**Thanks to everyone for reviewing, reading and alerting.**

* * *

**Don't Give Me Your Attitude, I Have My Own**

Anna was not happy, she wasn't happy at all.

The lady with the white hair tasted funny, her Mama hadn't come back, the other boy kept sticking out his tongue, and she was hungry. This was all too much for her little head to take and she wanted some chocolate milk.

Fighting to get loose from the lady's grip, she wrinkled her button nose in disgust and sank her teeth into the hand that was stopping her from finding her Mama.

Storm gasped in pain and placed the girl to the ground, cradling her broken skin to her chest. "Goodness." She whispered to Hank, as he rushed over to her. "She's very high spirited for her age."

Anna's bare feet slapped against the ground and she ran passed Ororo, dodging Henry's feeble attempt to catch her. She pulled a slight face when her mouth tingled with the taste of the bite. That lady really did taste funny, maybe even worse then her Mama, the dentist man, aunt Irene, the man that brought the mail, Minnie Mouse and that girl at _Chuck E Cheese _who ate one of her fries.

She couldn't remember anyone else, but she knew there were lots.

Pushing the door as hard as she could, Anna smiled impishly to herself because her Mama was on the other side and she was going to take her home. Slipping through the crack in the door, the girl immediately collided with a pair of legs and they weren't her Mama's.

"You goin' somewhere?" The pair of legs asked her and she nodded her head.

Following the legs, she looked up, and up, and up until she finally saw the person's face. It was that grumpy man again and he didn't seem happy to see her at all. He also had dark blue hair and that made her giggle. People weren't meant to have blue hair, especially men.

His eyebrow jumped all by itself, his nostrils were suddenly huge and he growled down at her. "I smell blood."

Anna peered around his legs and sniffed. "Ah don't." She replied seriously, shifting from one foot to the other. "What does it smell like?"

"Storm."

She gazed back at him and frowned. "Nu uh, Storm's don't smell."

"They do when you bite a chunk outta them." He told her dangerously and took a step closer to her.

Even a four and a half year old knew when it was time to run, and Anna Marie was quite bright for her age. It was just unfair that her leg's weren't as long as the grumpy man's because he caught up with her straight away. Before she knew it there she was in his arms again and it made her mad.

"Put meh down!" She shouted at him, kicking her short legs and hammering her balled fists against his chest. "Ya ain't fair!"

"You wanna know what isn't fair?" Logan whispered harshly in her ear, readjusting her in his arms before she fell. "Bitin' the hell outta someone just cause' you're cranky."

Anna stopped fighting for a moment and blinked at his face. The grumpy man that her Mama said was her Daddy had just said a naughty word. "Ya said a bad word."

"I've had a bad day, Kid." He started to walk and she knew he was taking her back into the room.

She had one last look over his shoulder before he marched through the door, and her Mama wasn't there. She must have done something really bad to be left here with the grumpy man, he didn't even like her. At least her Mama gave her chocolate milk and let her watch cartoons. Grumpy only growled and stared at her like he was going to eat her.

Maybe he was just like the Giant in _Jack and the Beanstalk_?

* * *

He sat her down on the bed beside that ugly looking boy, and glared. She tried to shuffle away from them both, but Grumpy pulled her back and kept his hand on her shoulder.

Logan eyes flickered to Storm "What's the damage?" He grunted, focusing on Hank disinfecting both bite marks with a pad of cotton wool.

The lady that didn't taste like chicken nuggets, Gummy bears or Milk Duds thanked the giant blue bear for his help and smiled. "I think I'll survive, Logan."

Grumpy did that thing with his eyebrow again and leaned closer to Anna. She put her hand over her nose because his breath smelt, and attempted to copy his face. She had a dressing up box at home and there was a pirates sword that she liked to use when people with smelly breath got too close.

Once her Mama had been really mad when she had stabbed a man in the naughty place. But he had deserved it because he had stayed overnight, taken the toy from the cereal box and kept calling her 'Sport'.

"You're gonna apologise Stripes and it'd better be good."

"Who's Stripes?" The girl responded curiously her voice muffled by the hand.

Logan looked taken aback for a moment and lifted her chin so their eyes met. "You are, kid. Now quit with the stallin' and apologise before I get really pissed."

Both Anna and Remy gasped at his choice of words, Storm held her head in her hands and Hank made a number of disapproving noises from the spot by his desk.

"Oooooh, that's a really bad word." The little Southern girl informed him solemnly, shaking a finger in his face. "Your Mama needs to put ya in time out."

Remy eagerly climbed to his feet and pointed his arm at the door. "Go to y'room!" He commanded bouncing up and down on the bed. "Y'been a bad, bad boy."

Anna pulled at Gambit's T-shirt (One that Jamie had outgrown) and puffed out her cheeks. "Ya don't say it like that." She uttered knowingly, rolling her eyes and scampering to her knees. Doing the best impression of her Mama's angry face, she scowled at Wolverine. "Go tah ya room, young lady."

Storm laughed and came to stand at Logan's side. "What's so funny?" He demanded, watching both Rogue and Gambit jump up and down on the bed. "You happy that she mistook your hand for a chicken wing?"

"Don't be so hard on her, Logan. Today has been a shock for all of us, including her."

"I don't see anyone else usin' their teeth as a way of copin', and she won't be either once I get through with her."

Ororo placed a calming hand on his arm and sighed. "Mystique might be many things, but she's given you a second chance at fatherhood. So for Rogue's sake and yours, don't throw it away."

Even if this wasn't a trampoline, Anna was having fun and the higher she jumped the quicker her Mama vanished from her thoughts. Maybe it wouldn't be so horrible here if they had chocolate milk, Doritos and Grumpy could learn to like her.

She slumped onto the bed panting heavily and Remy stuck his tongue out at her. "Stop doin' that." Anna ordered him, crossing her arms.

"No."

"Yeah."

"No."

"Yeah."

"No!"

"Yeah!"

He sat down and stared at her suspiciously with his strange eyes. "Y'better not bite me," He warned her. "Y'got cooties."

"Ah ain't got cooties!" She snapped back at him, poking his face with her finger and just missing his eye.

Remy slapped her hand away and scooted back. "Yeah y'have, all girls have cooties."

"No they don't."

"Yeah, they do."

"No they don't."

"Yeah, they do."

Logan couldn't take any more of the arguing and was itching to stab something in the Danger room. "Hey, stop with the fightin'" He commanded both of them gruffly.

Anna fixed him with a look reminiscent of her mother and huffed. "But he started it."

"I don't care who started it, kid, I'm finishin' it."

Storm, as always acted as the peacemaker between the two. Over the years she had become quite experienced at defusing the situation before either parties came to blows. "Remy, sweetie, how about I take you upstairs? I think I know where I can find some cookies."

Remy jumped at the chance, no really he did. The boy dived off the bed and was content with snuggling against Storm's chest. He didn't need to move his legs if someone was willing to carry him. "Are dey chocolate chip cookies?"

"Ya said girl's had cooties!" A thoroughly miffed Anna scoffed at his back.

He shot her a look as if to say 'Are you really that stupid?' "Stormy ain't a girl!"

Henry chortled at that and opened the door for Ororo and Remy. "I think I might join you both. A glass of milk and a cookie sounds good to me right about now."

Anna hopped off the bed ready to follow them. She liked chocolate chip cookies and milk too. Why hadn't anybody asked if she wanted any? They didn't believe that smelly boy, did they? She didn't have cooties!

"No, you don't." Logan growled, stepping in front of her only escape. "No cookies for you."

"Ah don't have cooties." She replied, pouting up at him with her best puppy dog eyes.

He shut the door behind him and leaned against it, blocking her exit."You're goin' nowhere until you're ready to apologise."

At that moment Anna hated everyone. She hated her Mama and aunt Irene, the funny tasting lady, the blue bear, that stupid boy and even her toy dog. But most of all she hated him, the grumpy man that stopped her every time she tried to leave this room.

Tugging at his denim clad leg, Anna stamped her foot and began to cry.

Logan stared straight ahead at the opposite wall completely ignoring her. He didn't need to use his nose to know that those weren't real tears. Christ, he was going to give Raven a mouthful the next time he saw her. How could she let their daughter turn into such a brat?

After five minutes, she soon grew bored of the crying. It always worked on people and she always got what she wanted straight after, but grumpy was a different story. She wanted Homer Simpson to be her daddy, he was funny and burped a lot.

She roughly tugged at his leg again and got no response. Even trying to squeeze around the back of him didn't get her a reaction and she was quickly tiring of being stuck in this room. It wasn't fair that she didn't get a cookie but that other boy did.

Anna really didn't like that boy, she wanted to bite him, she wanted to bite all boys. In fact, why didn't she start right now?

He hoped that she'd stopped with the theatrics. If there was one thing he hated more then Sabretooth, it was bratty kids. Now he had one of his own and he had no idea what to do with her. He doubted even the seventeen year old Stripes would have pushed him this far. And what about his bar, was it even still standing?

Something wet started to seep through the side of his calf and he glanced down to see the girl with her mouth to his jeans. There were times when even the best of parents lost their rag and scared the hell out of their own kids. Logan didn't care about any of that when he felt a set of teeth nip through the denim, he wanted retribution.

She saw the look in his eyes and she gulped. Her Mama never looked at her like _that _and it started to worry her. The hand that connected with her butt scared her and when she saw that another was coming her way, it frightened her to death.

Narrowly ducking through Grumpy's legs, Anna darted under the nearest bed for her safety and planned on staying under there until her Mama came to collect her. Not even the promise of four cookies would have coaxed her out from her hiding place... No way, it would have to be the whole packet at least.

* * *

Logan continued to pace from one wall to another. He really had done it this time, hadn't he? Storm had warned him. But he'd decided to plough right ahead and lose his temper anyway. Sure, the girl had been asking for it and he'd be more then happy to provide it. Still, he had seen the terrified look in her eyes and he felt guilty.

He just didn't like to be bitten, it was one of those things that he couldn't stand. The rule that he drilled into all the students from the very first day was 'No damn biting' in the Danger room. Not that the likes of Slim and the Half-Pint went around biting, but that was beside the point.

Stepping over the kid's stuffed dog for the thirteenth time, an idea popped into his head. He scooped the dog off the floor and parked his ass in the seat nearest to the bed.

Anna yawned and slumped against the ground, she was tired and it was dusty under here. Her Mama wouldn't be pleased with the dirt on her dress, and she kept sneezing. Her stomach was making funny noises too and she was really hungry. She wondered if they had saved any cookies for her, or if the greedy boy had eaten them all.

Gazing out from her hiding place she saw grumpy sit down, and he was holding Paws by his ear. She frowned at that and shifted closer to them, poking her head out from under the bed. You weren't supposed to hold him like that, his ear would fall off.

"Ya hurtin' him." She remarked to Logan, suddenly sneezing twice in a row.

He raised an eyebrow and was careful not to make eye contact with her. "He doesn't feel pain, does he?"

Crawling a little further towards them and venturing out into the light, Anna stood to her feet. "Of course he does." She replied, shaking her head at his silliness. "Don't ya know he's alive?"

Logan suppressed a grin at how adamant she was that the furry little black on white toy was real. He turned the dog around in his calloused hand, and caught her hovering closer towards him out of the corner of his eye. "It that so?"

Anna stepped nearer, keeping a close watch on grumpy's hands. "Yeah."

"You ever bitten him?"

"No way, it'd hurt him."

He had got her just where he wanted her and felt like heading up top for a smoke to celebrate. "You bit me and Storm."

She stopped directly in front of him and tucked her hair behind her ears. "Ah know."

Logan put the toy to his mouth and she screamed, flew at him in a sea of tears and he hauled her into his lap despite her protests. "This is how it's gonna work, kid." He explained to her firmly, restraining the sobbing girl and showing her the toy. "If you don't bite..."

He glanced down at her for help. "Mr. Four Paws McGrowler." She sniffed, playing with the buttons of his shirt.

"Okay then," He scratched his jaw and raised both brows. "If you don't bite..." After a quick listen for any noise outside the door, Logan continued. "Mr. Four Paws McGrowler, then you don't bite anybody else, got it?"

The girl nodded against his chest and he handed her the damn dog back

Anna hugged Paws tightly and wiped at her cheeks."Mama said you're mah Daddy."

Logan's muscles tensed, and he hoped to God that she wasn't going to ask him how babies were made. That question was going to be saved for a later date, as in forty years from now, and someone else would be on the receiving end of it, not him.

"Yeah, darlin', she was right in tellin' you that."

Anna's eyes began to grow heavy and she yawned into the fabric of his shirt. She felt safe in his lap and didn't give a seconds thought to falling asleep, even after earlier, but she sometimes forgave grown-ups if they didn't act too stupidly.

Carefully standing up, Logan gazed at the sleeping girl in his arms and slowly made his way over to the door. He didn't think he was cut out for all this domestic, family stuff and then he caught a whiff of her scent and his thoughts began to backtrack at a breakneck speed.

Catching the dog before it fell to the floor, he placed it back in her arms and smiled slightly. He could do this for Stripes, his Stripes and it'd be a piece of cake too.

* * *

_**I couldn't stop my fingers from typing the cooties part. It was all too amusing for me to imagine a four and a half year old Gambit with a dislike for girls.**_

_**Rogue, as I've said should have biting issues. And, a stuffed toy named 'Mr. Four Paws McGrowler'**_

_**Also, it was never my purpose when I first started writing this for Logan to resort to physical punishment. It just sort of snowballed and I decided on behalf of the character that that was something he'd probably do if pushed to extremes.**_

_**P.S. The bugs on this site still won't let me underline any of the titles. I bet it's just me that's having this problem. **_


	4. Biters Anonymous

_**You would have gotten this chapter sooner, unfortunately I had one crazy hangover that killed any plot bunnies that I may have had. Seriously, I really shouldn't have touched those vodka shots or the cider, and anything else that I might have poured down my throat without my half functioning, drunken brain stopping me. The pizza was probably a bad idea also... Way too much cheese and calories... God, did it taste good though. **_

_**Anyway, I've been trying to remember what I was like at four. Personally for me it's been over eighteen years since I was cute, innocent and naturally blonde. Doesn't time fly? I'll be ninety, wrinkled, grey and causing riots in a nursing home before I know it. **_

_**I'm getting off track again... I seem to do that a lot. When I was four I liked Barbies, Mr Blobby, I wasn't afraid of the dark (In fact I couldn't sleep unless it was pitch black) and hated when my little brother came along because he would cry at night and wake me up. I also didn't grasp the concept of stupidity (Nothing much has changed) when I poked a bees nest under the shed with a stick. I'm still surprised that I wasn't stung to death that day. It's strange that I had no fear then and now when a single bee flies in my direction I scream and run like hell.**_

_**Does anyone else actually remember how they were at that age? It's making my brain ache from just thinking about me aged four. Although, that could be my semi-hangover. Its beginning to lift slowly but surely.**_

_**

* * *

**_

**Biters Anonymous**

Two moist emerald green orbs snapped open signalling that Anna Marie Darkholme had woken from a nightmare and wanted her Mama.

Sniffing quietly to herself and rubbing her blood shot eyes, she rolled out of the sheets and kicked them off her feet. Her sight were slowly adjusting to the darkness and she hugged Paws to her chest waiting for the monster under her bed to stop growling.

It was a different growl to Grumpys, it was meaner and the monster had great big teeth that he used on naughty kids, or people that didn't like _The Simpsons_ and chocolate milk. The same monster had eaten her shoe once when she tried to kick him, that was just how mean he really was. Not even her pirate sword had scared him into puking it back up, and there had been no funeral for Mr. Shoe.

She didn't have her pirate sword with her this time. There was only her and Paws, and it was dark, very dark. The monster had been chasing her in the nightmare and even when she woke up he was still here, hiding under the bed. She thought he wouldn't be able to find her here, but maybe he had followed her Mama here or hid in the car.

Yeah, that had to be it. The monster with her shoe still in his tummy must have climbed in the trunk when nobody was looking. She only saw his face once when he ate her favourite shoe and swallowed it whole, he didn't even chew it and never said thank you.

Anna shuddered at her thoughts and blinked away the tears. None of this was fair and it was too dark in here. Where was her _Bart Simpson _night light and all her toys? There were no sticky stars that glowed in the dark either. Her Mama had even forgot to bring her pirate cushion, it had a big white face on it, two white swords and was soft to snuggle against.

A loud thud against the wall made her jump and she ran from the bed. Her heart was in her throat and her feet couldn't move quickly enough. She was sure that the monster was coming after her, but she was determined to get to the door. So determined that she tripped over her own feet, threw her arms out and then crashed into the door head first.

Instantly the noises stopped and Anna held her breath, the tears rolling off her cheeks and her head smarting from her latest fall. Mama and Aunt Irene always said that she was clumsy, and she hated it. Although after she got eaten by the monster, they would be sorry that they ever teased her, or left her here with grumpy.

"Jean, I didn't hear anything."

The voice sounded like it was just outside her door and Anna didn't dare move. She wished it was the funny tasting lady and grumpy out there, even if she was in trouble for getting out of bed.

"Scott, I definitely heard something and I'm sure it came from in here."

The door handle rattled and it snapped her into motion. She crawled on her hands and knees in search of Paws ignoring the urge to rub her head. Anna didn't want to be here all on her own, in the dark with monsters, strangers and her poorly head.

"Are you sure it isn't Logan?"

"No, we'd know if it was him. Anyway, his bedroom is the next one along."

A rush of excitement ran through her as her tiny fingers brushed against Paws. The excitement instantly faded to be replaced by sudden fear as the room was thrown into a hazy light. Her eyes darted to the two people, one man and one woman. The lady had pretty red hair and was wearing a dressing gown, she was smiling. But the other one had no hair on his chest, glasses and a pair of shorts on. Didn't he know he was walking around almost completely naked?

The one with the messy red hair smiled. "Hi, my names Jean." She told Anna softly, gazing at her with curiosity. " You seem familiar, have we met before?"

The nervous girl didn't utter a word in reply, only hid Paws behind her back when she caught Jean staring at him.

"Jean, look at her hair."

Anna had forgotten that the naked man was still there, and she glared when he chose to step closer to her. Why were all these people bothering her, when all she wanted was her Mama? She would have hit him with her sword if she'd had it and that made her frown. Her sword was one of her top two weapons of choice, her first being her teeth of course.

She wasn't allowed to take her sword with her everywhere, but her Mama couldn't make her leave her teeth behind.

"Do you think she's related to Rogue?"

The man shook his head and walked closer still. He towered over her and she gripped Paws with white knuckles. "I don't know. Maybe we should go talk to the Professor?"

"Scott, she looks a little uneasy." Jean warned him, beckoning him over to her side. "I think you're crowding her."

Scott laughed and rolled his eyes. "Don't be dramatic, she's fine. Aren't you, little girl?" He cooed, patting her on the head.

It happened in an instant and Scott's high pitched squeal echoed through the mansion. Jean gasped as Anna pushed past her and darted out of the doorway.

The little Southern spitfire was running barefoot down the first hallway she spotted, Paws still in her arms and the after taste of the naked man on her lips. Her mind was slowly processing the events of the last day in her head, and she was startled when students started shuffling out of their rooms to catch a glimpse of her.

She hopped down the stairs one at a time, her eyes darting for anyone that resembled Grumpy. He told her not to bite anybody else and she glanced down at Paws. Stopping at the bottom of the stairs, Anna kissed him on the top of his head and whispered, "Don't worry, Paws, Ah won't bite ya."

She listened intently to his reply and nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, we do need tah hide." First they would hide, then they needed to find a way out of here. After that it would be easy to find her Mama, all she had to do was ask the first person they met and she could go home.

* * *

Logan threw the helmet down on the work top and stretched his arms high above his head. Listening to the numerous _cracks _and _pops _of his joints voicing their relief to finally be off the bike and metres away from the fridge, he yawned and closed his eyes for a moment.

It was after midnight, his bar was still in one piece, and he'd had to punch only one drunk in the jaw when he'd shut the place down early tonight.

He had a lot on his mind, and it all revolved around Raven and her dirty little secret.

His brain had been bucking from one damn problem to another. So, he'd shut up shop, slipped Sarah, Sally, Sandy, Cindy or Sydney a few hundred dollar bills, and headed back home. Whatever he had thought in the past, this place was feeling more like home everyday.

Logan removed his jacket and slung it over the back of the chair, rolling his sleeves up to his elbows, he needed to eat and fast. Gazing at the kitchen table, his eyes focused on the plate left over cookies and he smirked to himself. He was hoping more for two slices of bread and a slab of meat to wedge in there for him to gnaw on.

He knew who'd be wanting those cookies though, and he hoped that Storm had kept her promise to watch the sleeping girl. If he was really honest with himself, he'd say that finding out that she was his daughter wasn't such a bad thing. The only problem with the entire episode from his point of view was Raven, all that voodoo shit and the Cajun.

His only doubt was if he was up to the task of raising Stripes single handedly. The way he figured it the girl was his kid, and always had been. Now, he was dealing with a four year old with issues most grown bastards would wash their hands of. But she was his responsibility, and as they said, if you do the crime, you do the time.

And sleeping with Raven was as bigger crime as any. He must have consumed an entire states worth of liquor that night, or he might not have seen an actual woman in a few weeks. He was always heading off up North and keeping to the lonely roads where no-one but him ventured.

Logan began to carve the ham off the bone with a single claw, when his senses let him know that three people were headed his way. That usually wouldn't have surprised him at all, and then he glanced at the clock on the kitchen wall and frowned. It was half twelve and Shades had a strict sleeping regime, so why he marching into the kitchen with a bandaged wrist, and a flushed face was anyone's guess.

Red was the next to walk in, and was also flushed he noted, then it was Storm's turn.

"I hope you guys aren't the welcome committee." He snorted, taking an enormous bite out of his sandwich and nudging the refrigerator door closed with the heel of his boot. "The new kids would be out of the door quicker then I could say 'Another beer, Bub'."

The mansion was less crowded then it used to be, some students had left after the X-men had disbanded and decided to do their own thing, just like the Elf. He'd headed back to Germany and settled back in with his adopted family. Though he was probably going to get a shock when he found out what Mystique had been keeping from him all these years.

Logan arched a bushy eyebrow at Scott's lack of clothes. "You mind puttin' clothes on? Some of us are tryin' to eat here."

"That's not important." Cyclops muttered testily, thrusting his bandaged wrist in Wolverine's face. "What are you going to do about this?"

Lately it seemed that Slim was getting a little to big for his boots, and that pissed Logan off. He might have to take the kid down a peg or two in an unscheduled Danger room session later that day. "I sure as hell ain't gonna kiss it better." He grumbled, finishing off his sandwich and chewing on another slice of ham.

"I think what Scott's trying to say," Jean added calmly, patting her boyfriend on the arm. "Is that we know about Rogue and your connection to her. Congratulations, I'm sure you must be pleased. Even if she's now, you know."

"Jean, the girl bit me for no reason. I didn't come here to wish Logan all the best for the future, what if the wounds infected?"

Logan would have snorted at that if he hadn't been quietly fuming. Seven hours ago he'd found out that he had a daughter, and he thought this dad stuff was going to be a walk in the park. Now he couldn't raid the fridge in the middle of the night without being bothered by complaints.

"It really wasn't her fault," Jean announced, trying to reason with him. "We must have woken her up, and then we scared her."

Scott frowned, crossing his arms across his bare chest. "We didn't scare her and she didn't need to bite me."

He silently scowled at all three faces, impaled his claw through a piece of ham and strolled to the door. "Next time you wanna get frisky, how about thinkin' of the neighbours. I'll see you both in the Danger room, five A.M sharp."

Wolverine left Scott and Jean to their blushing and traipsed to the stairs. He knew that she wasn't in her room sleeping, he could detect her scent and it was still fresh. It couldn't have been more then ten minutes old, which meant that she had to be around here somewhere.

"Logan, the poor girl was only scared, she acted out of self defence." Storm declared, expressing her deep dissatisfaction as she followed closely behind him.

He sniffed again, and changed directions, turning to the right and advancing towards the cupboard that housed all the crap that didn't belong anywhere else. The last time he checked inside the cupboard there were hockey sticks, forty eight packs of toilet tissue, twelve crates of beer, gardening equipment, a hidden stash of Twinkies, a soccer ball, Bobby's report card, christmas decorations and a broken vase.

He'd given Ice-Man a month of early morning Danger room sessions, drank some beer, eaten a Twinkie and was still searching for the broken vase bandit.

"She's my kid, Ro', I think I know what's best for her." Logan grumbled, stepping over the hockey sticks that littered the space in front of the cupboard door. One last sniff and he knew he'd found her hiding place. Kicking the sticks to the side, he sighed and turned to the weather witch. "It's only gonna be a tellin' off"

Ororo looked relieved at that and the tension vanished from her face. "I guess I'll leave you to it then, I need to check on Remy. Just remember we're going to the mall tomorrow."

He waited for Storm to walk around the corner and considered going easy on the girl. Shades had obviously scared the crap out of her, and he couldn't really blame her for biting him. If the boy had appeared in his room half dressed and disturbed his sleep, he'd have bitten him too, then kicked his skinny ass from here to Timbuktu.

Logan needed to lay down some ground rules though. If they weren't able to reverse whatever Raven had done to her, then he was going to have to step up to the plate and act like a responsible father of a four year old kid. That especially meant no more late nights at his bar, maybe he could hire someone to watch the place while he was away?

He'd work that part out later, because most importantly Logan needed to balance his dad act out. Stripes needed discipline, yeah, that much was certain, but she also needed guidance. Someone to comfort her, wipe away the tears... A parent that played with her, made her laugh, And he wasn't _that_ _type _of guy. He could dish out the discipline, he could even protect her from the world, but there was no way in hell that he was going to run around playing hide and seek.

Opening the cupboard door, he immediately spotted the little pain in the ass sitting crossed legged on his crate of beer. At first he thought she had fallen asleep, until she huffed at him. "Ah didn't do anythin'."

Logan was less then convinced at her sullen declaration. "Yeah, sure you didn't." He grunted, waiting for her to exit the dingy cupboard. "Come on, you've caused enough trouble tonight."

Anna wished that she had chosen somewhere else to hide, Grumpy had found her far to easily. "No."She snapped back, sliding further into the corner, her back meeting the wall. If he took her back to that room the monster would still be there, and she didn't want to get eaten. She hadn't explored this big house yet, and there had to be plenty of trouble to get into while she was here.

"I didn't ask you a question. Now, move it."

Grumpy was getting that look in his eyes again and she wished he'd just leave her alone. It wasn't like she had meant to bite that naked man, but he was creepy. She was tired, her head still hurt and she wanted cookies with a glass of milk."Can ya fetch mah Mama now?" Anna pleaded, rubbing the top of her head gently and whimpering.

Logan's face softened slightly and he crouched down to her level. "Look, Stripes, your mom, she's left you here to stay with me for a while." His eyes scanned her face for any sign that she understood."I know we ain't gotten off to a great start, you and me. But... Hey, why you cryin'?" He hadn't meant to sound so harsh, he guessed that he was too used to dealing with tougher kids and mutations, rather then little girls. And Rogue didn't cry, Logan had never seen her cry. No that was stupid, he had never seen her cry when she was a sixteen, or seventeen... It was different now.

Now the girl was scrambling further away from him, the smell of her tears stirring his paternal side into demanding immediate action."Kid, you can't stay here."

Anna wanted her sword, and she didn't want Grumpy scooting any closer to her. Why didn't anyone understand that she was brave for her age, and she would go back to the room in her own time. The people that she had met so far were all stupid, and everyone of them tasted funny. She was safe in here and had found some Twinkies to eat, but couldn't get the bottle of drink out from the box she was sitting on.

She growled at him in warning and he chuckled at her. That made her and Paws both angry, so she cocked her head to the side, waited patiently for his hand to get closer and when it hovered in front of her face she nipped at it... To be fair it was a little more then a nip judging by Logan's bark of surprise, it even drew blood.

He fell back and slammed into the crates of beer in slight awe of her boldness, and had little time to react to the girl. She had already sped out of the cupboard, and he heaved himself off the ground fully aware that he'd just had his ass handed to him on a plate by a four year old. Closing his eyes, and counting to ten in the hope that he could stifle his anger, Logan's blood pressure began to steadily rise.

Stumbling out of the door, he tripped over a hockey stick and bellowed, "ANNA MARIE!"

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_**And that's another chapter done and dusted... It's nearly 3AM here too. YIKES. Now it's your turn to tell me what you would like to see happen in the next chapter. I'm already on the Gambit issue, he does need to feature in these chapters a lot more, I know. **_

**Thanks to the following people for reviewing: 3Blue3Moon3 (The Britishness is staying put) Anonymous (Kurt will most likely turn up eventually) The Yank (Cooties... Yeah. I think both you and your mum have a dirty mind!) The Reviewer with no name (Its looking less likely by the chapter, but you never know) aiRO25 (Who said that Remy would lose his thieving skills? ;) He still has family out there) roguelover321 (More, more, more) Starlight (I want whatever you're smoking - Seriously LOL) S2T (I shuddered at your mention of Britney. I suppose you do have a point with the spanking issue.) **

_**I really need to go to bed, the birds are starting to sing and I do have to be somewhere later to day... Oops. **_


	5. Monster Vs Mutant

_**I present you with another update and my favourite chapter so far. There's no Remy in it (Hides from the Romy lovers) but it's still cute, and Remy will appear in the next chapter. **_

_**Thanks to all those reading and reviewing! **_

_**tenchi13 - Your idea has been noted down, and I love it. Scheming against Logan is probably not the best thing to do if you want to live to see another day, but it sure is fun. LOL **_

_**sithKnight- X-23 will be appearing eventually. Chomping parade? LMFAO. That's a brilliant way to describe it. Of course Kitty will be going gaga.**_

_**aiRo - Happy to know that you think she's spoilt, that's just the reaction I was hoping for. I always thought that Raven would completely spoil her children if she was given the chance. No, it's never a good idea to anger a Guild...**_

_**roguelover - Gambit and Rogue will appear together... Just not yet, but hold that thought!**_

_**S2T - If I'd sat back and thought about it, I probably would have realised that you were Starlight (Head hits against wall repeatedly) Well, you have plenty of Daddy Logan moments in this chapter. I'd even go as far as saying that you were swamped!**_

_**Yank - You got yourself a car! Whoo hoo! Ahem, Remy and Anna squabbling? DONE. **_

_**Raina - Rogue acting like a mini Wolverine? Another great idea. **_

_**Riley - So happy that it sounded like a young child's thoughts. There will be more of Remy in the next chapter, I promise. **_

_**3Blue3Moon3 - Phew, thanks for the ideas and the review that you messaged me with. You do sound like my mum... LMFAO! Are you sure that you haven't been taking lessons from her?**_

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**Monster Vs Mutant**

For the first time since she had woken up, Anna was grinning madly like a four year old on a play date. She was never allowed to run around her other house, her Mama thought little girls shouldn't act like that, they were supposed to sit quietly and play with dolls. The southerner loved dolls of all shapes and sizes, but running, jumping, climbing trees and playing in the mud was fun too.

Especially when you had escaped from Grumpy, it was way past your bedtime and Paws was cheering you on.

He was the best friend any girl could ask for, Paws was her only friend and that didn't bother her one bit. She didn't need friends, they only made her angry and she'd have to share her toys with them, or be nice. Her Mama was never nice to people, she'd seen it with her own eyes and Anna wanted to be just like her.

Skipping along a hallway she was sure that she hadn't been down before, the little girl poked her head around an open and door, hiding behind the wall when the man inside looked at her. She was sometimes shy when she first met others, especially grownups.

"Would you like to come in?" The man asked, and he had a weird accent.

He sounded nice though, not like Grumpy who always sounded angry and very, very angry.

Anna glanced at Paws, and he agreed with her, the man was okay in both their books. He wouldn't hurt them, try to bite, growl, drink all the chocolate milk, stick his tongue out, or say that she had cooties, and, she DIDN'T have cooties.

Slipping into the room, she noticed that he was smiling and pointed at a chair in front of his large desk. The room was quite dark, and it made her feel rather sleepy, but big girl's didn't fall asleep without a bedtime story and a kiss from their Mama. "Ya have a really shiny head." She remarked, clambering on the chair and staring at the man.

He chuckled and sat back, his eyes dancing with amusement. "I suppose I have, yes."

"Did ya hair run away?"

"In a manner of speaking it did and I very much wish that it would return."

Anna really did like this man, and she giggled at him. "Ya voice is funny too." The southerner pointed out happily, sitting Paws on her lap and swinging her chubby legs. The bald man smiled and his face was all crinkly, her Mama called those lines wrinkles and they meant that someone was really old and about to die. She wasn't entirely sure what dying meant, but it had to be something really bad because Bambi's Mommy died and then he was all alone. Anna was all alone too, so maybe her Mama had died and that's why she had left her here. "What's ya name?"

The Professor leant forward, clasping his hands together and watched Rogue intently. "My name is Charles, and what do they call you?"

"Anna Marie, but mah Mama only calls meh that when Ah've been bad."

"Well, have you been good tonight, Anna?"

Anna blinked at him and looked down at the floor. Grown-ups always asked her those kind of questions and she never told the truth. "Yeah, Ah'm always good." She replied, attempting to whistle but failing miserably, she hadn't learnt to whistle yet. "Do ya have any cookies in here?"

The shiny headed man called Charles played around with the papers on his table and kept looking at the door. "No, I don't keep any cookies in here and I believe that we're about to have a visitor."

Whoever this person was, it had better not be that naked man. Hopefully it was the Cookie Monster or Charles's hair. He really needed his hair because it must take him hundreds of years to polish his head. "Who is it?"

A growl rumbled from the doorway, Anna's eyes widened and she instantly scooted off her chair. Slowly turning around she breathed a sigh of relief when her eyes rested on Grumpy, not the monster. Good, he hadn't crawled out from under the bed yet, that meant she had some time to find a weapon and chase him away all on her own. She found that she was feeling braver now that she wasn't in the room.

Then something caught her attention, Grumpy's face was getting redder by the second. His face clashed with the colour of his hair, his boots made a heavy _clomping _sound against the wooden floor, and he hadn't even said hello to Charles. That was very rude, weren't old people supposed to have good manners?

The closer Grumpy got to her, the faster she edged around the desk. He looked really mad, even madder then before and she began to wish that she hadn't bitten him. Normally when she bit someone they would leave her alone and stay away, that always pleased her. But Grumpy was strange, did he like being bitten?

Anna took her eyes off Grumpy and gawked at the chair Charles was sitting in, and that was when it happened. Paws was snatched from her arms and she screamed, watching her best friend about to get eaten by the grumpiest, meanest, ugliest person she had ever met.

Paws was in his mouth before she knew it and Grumpy was biting him really hard. She was certain that she could here her dog crying and shouted at the man, "Stop, or Ah'll tell mah Mama!"

When Grumpy didn't stop, she wrapped her arms around his leg and gazed up at him with a tearful face. "STOP IT!" She cried, standing on his foot and her fingers attaching themselves to his belt. He still wouldn't stop and she pulled at his shirt, tears streaming from her eyes. "Ah'll bite ya again!"

She saw him glare down at her, and he tucked Paws under his arm where she couldn't reach him. She hopped off his boot and Grumpy nodded at Charles and started to walk out of the room. "GRUMPY, YA CAN'T KEEP HIM, HE AIN'T YOURS!"

Anna ran after him, her feet sinking into the plush carpet and her tears continuing to fall.

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Logan had considered whooping her out of control butt at first, then his brain had stumbled on to a gem of a piece of child psychology. If the girl wouldn't quit with the biting, he'd have to show her how it felt. He wasn't about to start chomping away at her arms, so had decided that the toy of hers was a safe bet to get the message across.

It was probably going to be hard to break a behaviour like that, but he was a pro at dealing with challenges, the bigger the better. Jesus, was the girl stubborn though. She might not have bitten him, however her current tantrum was growing worse by the second.

The kid was a crying, hiccupping, wailing whirlwind around his legs. He had the distinct feeling that she was used to getting her own way and he guessed this must be a shock to her system. Raven was definitely going to get an earful from him. How hard could it be to bring a little girl up without turning her into a damn spoilt brat? And he had thought that the anti-social, sarcastic teenage Rogue had been bad, Christ was he wrong about that. All would be forgiven if she'd just change back, and quit screaming.

It was strange how the dad thoughts came so easily, he immediately noticed that she needed something other then her dress to sleep in, and Storm wasn't around to deal with it. Damn it, that left it all up to him then.

Sighing at the ridiculousness of the situation, Logan was relieved that no students had poked their heads out of any of the doors they passed. That was just what he needed, rumours spreading about his inability to control the mini Stripes. No one would ever take his threats seriously again. At least she hadn't taken to lying on the carpet, kicking her legs and crying blood murder, that would really have pissed him off.

Logan knew that Raven would be laughing her ass off right now. His life had been a series of ups and downs, but finding out that he had another daughter stirred a mixture of feelings he thought he'd long since lost. Mystique obviously had quite the problem with him if she was willing to dump the girl here.

Throwing his bedroom door open, he tossed the toy dog on top of the dresser and opened the draw in search of a top. Stripes would be dwarfed in one of his shirts, but it would have to do for the time being.

She was still howling over her stupid toy and he slammed the drawer closed eyeing the adjoining door to the room next door to his.

Stripes hopped up and down attempting to reach her dog, blatantly ignoring his hands as they tried to tug her back. "Give meh Paws, and Ah won't tell mah Mama!" She screeched causing his ears to ring and knocking his brain into touch.

He was the parent, he was the adult and she was the child, what the hell was going on here?

Anna only wanted her Paws, that was all she wanted. Why wouldn't Grumpy give her him back? He wasn't just mean he was even worse then that… He was… "Get off!" She snarled, going limp in his arms and wailing at the ceiling.

She was swiftly dumped on her bed, and yelped as his arm brushed the top of her head. "Don't, that hurts."

Grumpy gazed down at her and Anna sniffed tracing her fingers across the bump on her head. This was all that naked man's fault, she should have bitten him harder and kicked him in the leg. The next time she saw him she would do just that, and nobody would be able to do anything about it.

"What hurts?"

She slapped at the sheets and hiccupped. "Ah don't like ya. Leave meh alone."

Logan exhaled tiredly, and knelt down in front of her, a hand immediately resting on her ankle as she tried to shift away. "This ain't the first time you've told me that, Stripes, and I doubt it'll be the last." He told her, cupping his hands around her face and looking her in the eyes. "Now, what hurts?"

The little girl began to crumble and tapped her head gently. "Ah hit mah head." She mumbled, wincing when his hand touched the bump, still hiccupping with the after effects of her tantrum.

"How'd you do that?"

Her eyes visibly widened at the question, and she leant forward on her knees. Logan steadied her with his hands on her shoulders and listened intently to her hushed whisper. "The monster was gonna eat meh."

He arched a scrutinizing eyebrow and the little girl nodded her head solemnly. Grumpy might let the monster sleep under his bed instead if she promised to be good from now on. He might be annoying, always angry and a boring grown up, but he could have his uses. "Can ya make it go away?

"Make what go away, the pain, or the monster?" As soon as he uttered those words, he regretted them. What was the world coming to when the Wolverine would be used to scare away pretend monsters?

"The monster." Anna whined, quickly snapping her leg back from the edge of the bed and beginning to cry again. "It was banging on the wall and wanted tah eat meh."

Logan immediately knew what that banging had been, and grumbled under his breath. Those two were going to get a real workout in the damn morning. He was going to break their horny asses and make damn sure that they'd think twice before scaring the hell out of his kid again. _His kid? _Jesus, that wasn't half as bad to admit to himself as he thought it would be. Now all he had to do was settle her down for the night and take his tired ass off to bed.

"Kid, there's no monster." He informed her gruffly, standing to his feet and pointing at the bed. "Your butt stays right there, it's gotta be way past your bedtime." There was another word that made him cringe inwardly, bedtime… He hated uttering it. Sabretooth would be laughing himself sick right now.

He was certain that her head was fine, it was only a slight bump and his bed was calling him.

Anna saw that he was about to leave and began to howl in protest, throwing the sheets off the bed. She had heard the monster growl again and was petrified that she was going to be dragged under the bed while she slept… Or even worse, she'd still be awake and the monster would start chewing on her leg, burping and dabbing at his lips with a napkin.

"Grumpy, Ah'll be good. Just don't let meh get eaten!"

He hovered at the door, fighting with his conscience over the entire situation. It wasn't as though this monster was real. There was only one other fresh scent in here beside his, and he could hear that scent loud and clear. The kid was just scared that she'd get eaten and those tears were real this time. He'd have to do something and hoped to God that nobody would ever find out about this.

Logan sighed, traipsed back to the bed and squatted in front of her. "Kids don't taste that great, darlin', and I'm sure the monster knows that."

A solitary tear rolled off her cheek decorating the mattress. "But, but, he don't care." She hissed, her small body shaking. "The wolf ate _Red Riding Hood's _granny, and she didn't taste nice."

He had no idea what she was talking about and wasn't about to ask either. "You know what you have that _Red Riding Hood _didn't?"

She shook her head and wiped her nose on the back of her hand.

"Me" Logan replied simply, unsheathing a set of claws and poking his head under the bed. Crawling further underneath, he growled at the wall and swiped his claws at the thin air for good measure. "Your butts mine, Monster." He snarled, accidentally embedding his three claws into the dry wall and cursing at his own stupidity.

Anna couldn't believe what she had just witnessed. Grumpy wasn't even scared of the monster and he had pointy knives to fight with. That was really cool and she bet that nobody else had a daddy that could do that. The monster had no chance of winning and she hopped off the bed, landing on Logan's back. "Make him pay, Grumpy!" She called, giggling hysterically and holding on to the back of his shirt.

This was all part of the process of dealing with a kid he supposed, and he felt like a jackass. He'd destroyed part of the wall, and she was riding on his back like he was a donkey. Logan stood up, holding her in place and giving her a piggy back ride to his room. The girl needed to change into his shirt that would surely drown her and then it was off to bed… He hoped. She was currently nudging him in the side with her foot and shouting, "Faster, Grumpy, faster!"

She pouted when she was dumped on his bed, and glared at the T-shirt he was holding with disgust. "Put it on." He instructed her, kicking off his boots and turning his back. She might not have still been seventeen, but it still seemed like the right thing to do in the circumstances. "The monster won't be botherin' you again and it's definitely time for bed."

"It ain't pink."

He turned his head and glanced over his shoulder. "You don't like pink."

"Yeah, Ah do! Every girl likes pink, stupid." Anna scoffed, dropping the shirt to the carpet.

Logan rubbed at his jaw, and shot a warning look at her. He guessed that the old Stripes hated every shade of pink, but the new one actually loved it. "Pick that shirt up and put it on."

"It's ugly and black."

Anna didn't like the colour, and girls didn't wear black. It was a boy's colour and she would rather have the monster back then wear it. Maybe if she prayed really hard tonight, God would send back a kinder monster that wouldn't eat any kids, but would swallow the shirt instead. And eat that naked man too.

Grumpy lifted her up off the bed and stared at her straight in the eyes. "You do what you're told, when you're told, or land yourself in more trouble then you can handle." He grunted sternly, placing her back on the bed and watching her reach for the shirt.

She huffed and started to undress with the resentment building in her veins. He might have defeated the monster, but he was still horrible. "Ah still don't like it."

"You don't have to like it, Stripes. Just do it."

He was relieved when she pulled the shirt over her head, and sat there pouting up at him. She was pretty cute when she was like this. Even if it drove him up the damn wall and he wanted to run Raven out of town for her pathetic excuse at parenting.

"Ah want a story."

Logan ushered her through the door and into her room, throwing the sheets back on the bed. He waited for her to climb in, biting back the smirk that was attempting to break on his face. That shirt really was far too big, she was struggling to walk properly without falling over. "Kids that misbehave don't get stories."

Anna blinked at him and scowled. "Ah wasn't bad, it was the monster."

"The monster didn't bite me, you did."

She didn't answer, only flopped into the bed and let him tuck her in wishing her Mama was here. She would read her a story and it'd be a good one too. Like the ones that had Princesses, dragons, frogs and magic in them. "Then give meh back Paws and Ah won't cry."

He narrowed his eyes at her and walked away, flipping the light off as he went. "You get the toy back when you can stay out of trouble. Now go to sleep, Stripes. It's gonna be a busy day tomorrow."

Shifting in her bed, Anna hugged the duvet to her chest and raged quietly with a punch at the mattress. He was being a silly grown up again, she couldn't stay out of trouble. Her Aunt Irene said she was a trouble magnet and that was fine by her. There was no way that she was going to lie here and sleep without Paws, he would be missing her. He didn't like the dark, even if the monster wasn't here anymore.

Anna was going to get Grumpy back for this, she really was and he'd be the one crying instead.

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**Next chapter, the reluctant family head to mall/shopping centre.**

_**I won't even mention the England Vs USA match because I wasn't happy with the score... Grr. Poor Rob Green though. **_


	6. Insanity is Hereditary

**_Brand new chapter hot off the keyboard, my fingers are still burning. I give you - The RETURN of little Remy LeBeau and I think I'm right in thinking that he wasn't adopted by the Guild until he was ten. Before that he lived on the streets with a gang that taught him his thieving skills. He attempted to pick Jean -Luc's pocket and got himself adopted. I'm going by the comic btw. Not sure if it's the same in the Evo world, but this is an AU and I know that someone will let me know._**

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**Insanity is Hereditary... **

_You get it from your children. _

Ororo Monroe arched her back and stretched out her long limbs, smiling sleepily as the morning sun rippled through her bedroom window and drowned the room with it's radiance. Her silk sheets were draped over her body and she was dressed in a luxurious silk negligee. The nightwear had been a gift from Hank, and it was a beautiful royal blue colour. He said it would bring out her eyes, she on the other hand thought it matched the colour of his fur.

It had started slowly, a few shared looks here and there, a compliment or two. Then one night after a few too many glasses of dry white wine (Which had tasted similar to what she imagined paint stripper might taste like) they had fallen into bed, their bodies entwined and very much intoxicated.

She missed Spyke and as soon as she had laid eyes on the miniature Remy, the sadness instantly vanished. He was a well behaved little man, and it was a pleasure to take care of him. Storm just hoped that Logan was feeling the same about Rogue. The girl had been through so much over the years and she deserved all the happiness in the world.

A rustling sound stirred her from the comfort of her bed, and she immediately sat up. There was the little man in question, sitting in the corner of her room with a look of concentration on his face. "Remy, what are you doing in here?" It was only half six in the morning and she wasn't fully dressed for goodness sake!

The boy glanced up and cocked his head to the side. "Y'don't have any red ones."

Storm groped for her matching dressing gown and quickly covered herself. She was intrigued to see what he was talking about. Gambit was certainly playing with something, but she couldn't quite catch a glimpse at what was in his hands. It was all her bedrooms fault, it was far too big for her to potter around in.

"Red's my favourite colour."

"Well, I like blue." She replied, stepping closer towards him and gasping. He had a mountain of her underwear in front of him and was sorting them into three separate piles. "No, that's naughty. Oh, what am I going to do with you?"

"Hey, y'be messin' dem up." Remy complained slapping her hand away when she tried to retrieve her panties and bras. "Y'can have de ones dat I don' like." He pointed to the pile directly in front of her foot, and grinned. "Dey too girlie, y'can take dem."

Storm looked slightly bewildered as she watched him carry on. "Why are they in three piles?"

"Don' y'know anythin'? Dat pile I'm gonna keep cause dey smell nice. An' dem, dey are gonna fly."

She gazed down at the pile of her brightly coloured, bordering on the line of rather expensive lingerie and raised a perfectly plucked eyebrow. "How are they going to fly, Remy? They don't have wings."

He smiled at her and threw a pair of her best panties in the air. "Dey fly when y'throw dem outta de window."

The colour drained from Storm's face and she began to massage her temples attempting to rid herself of the growing headache. "What else have you thrown out of the window?"

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Anna had woken to a welcome surprise, Paws had been tucked in the bed with her and she kissed him repeatedly on the cheeks. She'd seen some funny dressed men do that once on the TV once and Paws really did deserve more then one kiss. He was special and had proved it by escaping from Grumpy's room all by himself.

"Ya don't need tah be scared anymore." She told him, helping Paws clap all four feet together. "Ah got rid of the monster all on mah own."

Nodding at his reply, the girl rolled out of bed and dropped the sheets to the floor. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and undressed quickly, smiling now she was free of the black t-shirt.

Minutes later she gazed around, wearing her dress. Her room was really big here and she would be able to fit lots of toys in the space. Hundreds of toys like pirate swords, Barbie dream castles, a giant teddy bear,_ Lego_, and maybe her own TV set. Then a playground over there, and a swing set, a pink slide, and some fish in a pond in the corner… They had to be pink fish with green spots and orange tongues. Oh, and a cage with a hamster called _Cinderella_ (even if it was a boy) , a puppy dog, some really tall flowers, a _Bart Simpson_ nightlight and a _Krusty the clown_ doll because he was funny, smoked, and had green hair.

It would be the best room ever if Grumpy got her all that. She didn't like the colour of the walls either and wondered if he'd buy her an ice cream after she'd painted them herself. Little girls were good at stuff like that and her Mama called it 'A woman's touch.' There was only one thing for it, she needed to make a list and give it to Grumpy. He was supposed to be her daddy and daddies bought stuff for their little girls, anything that they wanted, and took them for ice cream.

The girl across the street, her name was Amber and every time she cried her Daddy would take her for ice cream. She never got shouted at, and her Mama wasn't there anymore. Anna didn't like the girl, she had taken Paws away from her once, so she pulled Amber's hair until Paws was given back. Then her Mama and Amber's dad had gotten into a fight.

She wanted a new bed too, one of those large ones with the pink curtains that princesses slept in. Paws also needed a bed of his own, he was getting too old to sleep in hers now. Only married girls and boys slept in the same bed, or the monster would eat you for scaring your granny away.

That's why she didn't have a granny, her Mama was always in bed with different men. But the monster was scared of her Mama after she'd hit him with the pointy part of her shoe, so he didn't dare eat her. Maybe Grumpy had a granny she could meet, or he could buy her one.

Anna crept towards the open door and made Paws peek though the crack first. It was only fair, and he didn't complain because he was brave. "Is he in there?" She whispered to her furry friend. "You're a dog, and they have good eyes. Are ya sure? " Again she received the same reply and threw Paws in Grumpy's bedroom. "Can ya see better now?"

He said yes, and she sighed in relief. Grumpy wasn't in there and that meant she could have fun. "Ah need tah get ya some glasses, Paws." She informed her pal sternly, picking him off the floor and stroking his head. "Grumpy was mean last night. He made meh cry."

Paws's growled at that, and Anna patted his back. "Shh, don't worry." The girl uttered, her eyes twinkling mischievously as she ventured closer to the nightstand. "Look at those pretty bottles. What do ya thinks in them?"

"I could lift y'up t'see."

The voice made her jump, and she had to hold onto Paws really tightly in case he attacked. "What do ya want!"

Remy rolled his eyes at her and crossed his arms. "T'help."

"Nuh uh, Ah don't need ya help." She snapped, attempting to shoo him away.

Anna didn't like him. She liked Grumpy better and that was really saying something. In fact, she hated the boy. He ate all her cookies and kept saying that she had cooties.

"Why don' y'like me?" Remy questioned her looking forlorn and dejected.

The pint sized, outspoken Southerner huffed at herself, and gazed down at the carpet. She felt sorry for the boy now, he sounded so sad. "Where's the white headed lady?"

Remy stepped closer and pointed at the window. "Stormy went outside t'get her panties an' clothes."

"Is that where she keeps them?"

He nodded his head.

"Wow, she's really weird."

"I know."

They both stood there in silence looking at each other with curiosity, and Anna held out Paws. "Ya can pet him if ya want. He won't bite ya, or nothin'."

"What's his name?" Remy said, gently petting the stuffed dog and smiling kindly.

"Mr. Four Paws McGrowler. His Mama was from really far away."

He nodded his head and grinned suddenly. Snatching the dog from her hand, Remy darted across the room and flung Paws at the open window. Anna had never felt so angry in all her life, she was being nice to the boy and he was going to kill Paws.

"Ya asshole!" She screeched, repeating the word she had heard her Mama call a man once.

Her jaw dropped, and it happened in slow motion. She ran to save him, but Paws flew through the air, out of the window, and vanished.

Anna growled and tried to pounce on the boy, however, he was too quick for her.

"I'm tellin' Stormy y'said a bad word!" Remy called to her from his spot at the door.

She stared at him, the tears streaming down her cheeks and her heart aching for Paws. He was probably badly hurt, and she was all alone now. The pig of a boy stuck his tongue out at her and laughed. Anna needed to find Paws, she needed to kill that boy and she needed her Mama.

Remy began to run for the stairs and she chased after him. "Stop runnin', ya asshole!"

* * *

Logan buckled the belt on his Levi's as he stood in the elevator and smirked to himself. Now that had been a proper work-out. It had been one of the best Danger-room sessions he'd ever run and he was starving. He needed meat, black coffee, a deserted kitchen and a newspaper.

Shades and Red had learnt their lesson after he'd run them into the ground, and boy, did it feel damn good. The look on Scott's face when that sentinel came crashing into him, heh, it was worth all the hassle. And there was plenty of hassle living in a place like this.

The doors opened and an assortment of screams, insults and a certain word caught his immediate attention. Kitty was standing directly in front of him talking nineteen to the dozen, and he sighed to himself. There went his quiet time in the kitchen and that was definitely _his_ mini Stripes kicking up a fuss.

"Mr. Logan, Rogue didn't come back last night and I know I should have told you sooner. But she made me promise not to tell anyone, and I'm worried. I called Lance and even he thinks I should tell you. Isn't that surprising? I mean, Lance doesn't like you and I know you don't exactly like him. But Lance is great, and really sweet and, and he's even started using the right combination of shampoo and conditioner now…"

Logan rolled his eyes at the girl. "Half-pint, just go to school." He grumbled, side stepping the young slip of a rambler, and marching to the source of the raised voices.

"But, Mr. Logan…"

He didn't answer, he had leant anything short of walking away only led to further complications, confusion and a desperation to drink himself into oblivion. Gossip and girlie chats just weren't his cigars of choice, it was as simple as that.

It took him little more then thirty seconds to find Stripes and Gumbo. They were wrestling on the floor at the foot of the stairs, and his kid was a chip off the old block. The way her tiny fist pummelled Remy in the ribs was almost perfect, if not a little off target. He would have been proud if it hadn't have been for Storm and her disapproving gaze.

As soon as she walked through the door, he knew she would instantly lay the blame at his feet.

"What on earths going on?" She gasped, immediately attempting to separate the two fighting, snarling kids with one hand. "Logan, help me out here."

He sighed, caught Rogue's fist in his hand before she could do anymore damage and lifted her off the traumatised boy. "You have to spoil the kid's fun?" He grumbled, placing the growling girl on the stairs and telling her to stay. "She's only doin' what comes…" Pausing mid sentence, he arched an eyebrow at the crumpled underwear Ororo was trying her best to hide under her arm. "Any reason why you're walkin' around with your undies on show?"

"You make it sound perverted. I was just collecting them, that's all." She replied, helping Remy to his feet, spitting on her free hand and trying to calm his out of control hair. "Are you okay, sweetie?"

"Sweetie?" Logan scoffed, glancing from Gumbo to Stripes. "I've gotta few choice names for him. So has she if what I heard earlier is anythin' to go by."

"She attacked me, Stormy!" Remy sniffed, putting on the waterworks. "I was tryin' t'be friends wit' her."

Logan rolled his eyes, and snorted at the sob story. "Then she ain't as dumb as her mother." Storm glared at him and he shrugged his shoulders. "It's just a scrap, and he's learnt his lesson."

"_He's_ learnt _his_ lesson? What makes you think Remy was the one at fault?"

Wolverine didn't like the sound of that. _His kid_ wasn't the one in the damn wrong, it was that Gumbo and his creepy stalking ways, shifty eyes and odd shaped toes. He sure as hell wasn't going to put up with this, it pissed him off and God help anybody that pissed him off.

"You really think that's the way this played out?" He demanded, his anger getting the better of him. "He's got you wrapped round his little finger, Ro. You need to ship him back to Gumbo town pronto."

Storms face dropped and she took Remy by the hand. "I see that you're once again letting your biased feelings get the better of you, Logan. I think you'd be better off shopping with Rogue alone."

"Alone!" Logan gulped, looking taken aback. "How am I supposed to know what the kid needs?"

She didn't answer as she walked away with Remy and he groaned at the ridiculousness of it all. Could he really go it alone and take the mini Stripes shopping? Alone and without losing his mind in the process? It sounded impossible and he wanted to run for the hills. But, it was time to man up and… Wait, where the hell did the kid go?

This was never going to work. He hadn't even left the mansion and he had already lost her.

* * *

She didn't understand Grumpy at all; he was sending her mixed messages and talking to her like she was a dog. And she wasn't a dog, because they were cute, fluffy and looked like Paws. They also went to the toilet outside and didn't use toilet paper. So why was he telling her to 'sit' just like a dog?

Where was Paws, was he badly hurt and crying for her? He wasn't used to being thrown out of windows by mean boys. He was probably upset by it all and needed one of her special cuddles, a cookie and a day spent in front of the TV watching cartoons.

Anna needed to find him, so she slipped away while the adults were fighting. That Remy boy didn't say anything, and she smiled to herself. He was too scared and that pleased her slightly, even if the funny tasting ladies voice was getting louder and she hated Anna now. That was fine by her, she didn't need anybody's help. Especially someone who walked around with all their panties, and didn't care if little dogs were thrown out of windows.

She let herself out of the front door, pleased that it had been left open for her and looked around. This was going to be hard, where could Paws be hiding?

"Paws?" She called, glaring at the many windows of the big, big, big house. "Oh, Paws!"

There was no answer, so she marched further along bedside the hedge wishing that she was wearing shoes. Every so often, she would stand on a stone and it hurt. But she wasn't about to give in, no way. That boy wasn't going to win this fight, she was going to find her best friend and…

"Hey, Stripes."

The little girl huffed, and carried on walking. Grumpy was annoying and she didn't have time for him right now. They could fight later once she found Paws and made sure that he was safe.

"Stripes!"

What was his problem? Didn't he have other friends to play with? She was busy, he needed to go away and come again another day. That made her giggle, and she made sure that he was a safe distance away before she crawled under the hedge, and continued with her search.

"Paws, come out, come out wherever ya are."

Still there was no reply.

"Kid, I know you're in there. Come on, playtimes over, we've got stuff to do."

That reply didn't count. Paws didn't talk like that, he rarely growled and he would never growl at her. Grumpy was really pushing his luck today, his Mama wouldn't be happy with him when she found out.

Crawling on her hands and knees, she found that she didn't like the hedge. It was prickly and her dress kept getting caught on the small branches. She was about to call out for Paws when Grumpy began to speak yet again.

"You don't want ice cream for breakfast then? Fine. I guess I'll go find another kid that…"

"NO!"

Anna wanted ice cream, loved ice cream and had to eat ice cream everyday, or she'd get sick. That wasn't a lie, not really. It didn't hurt anyone except the ice cream and they probably didn't like being eaten, but they tasted so good. Even better with strawberry sauce, chocolate sauce, a wafer, sprinkles and a large spoon.

She quickly fought her way through the hedge and crawled towards the light. Her mind a mixture of ice cream scoops, Paws and Grumpy being nice.

Maybe she had been wrong about him? Could he actually be as nice as her Mama was?

Staggering out of the hole, the first thing she saw was Grumpy. He glanced down at her, his face all wrinkly. "Any reason for the detour in the hedge? Was the path not good enough for you?"

Again she didn't really understand what he was trying to say, but shook her head. "Ah was lookin' for Paws."

"Why? You two have a fallin' out?"

"No, the asshole threw him outta the window."

Grumpy looked like he was going to laugh, then he scratched his chin and stared at her. "You know, a kid your age shouldn't be usin' that word."

"But, mah Mama uses it." She replied, frowning up at him. "The guy in her room made her angry and she called him a…"

"That don't mean you get to use it, Kiddo."

"Why?"

He walked a couple of steps away and glanced at the hedge. "Because I don't want you to." He told her simply, reaching into the bush and plucking out Paws. "This what you lookin' for?"

Anna squealed in delight, and with a run she engulfed Grumpy's thigh in a hug. "Ya found him! Is he okay, does he look hurt, can we go for ice cream now?"

She really didn't think she'd ever cuddle the likes of Grumpy and his leg. Yet here she was and it felt good. Paws was back where he belonged, Grumpy said he would carry her because she kept getting stones stuck in her feet and she was going out for ice cream. This day couldn't get any better, could it?

* * *

Logan was grinning to himself as he drove down the interstate in search of a diner. Hell, he was happy and he didn't care who knew about it. When the kid, _his kid _actually hugged him he was taken aback and didn't know how to respond.

He wasn't the mushy type and still, he felt the undeniable tug on his heartstrings. This was his little girl reaching out to him and he wasn't going to let her down.

The way he had dealt with her while she was in the hedge had pleased his inner daddy. There were no tears, he hadn't yelled at her, threatened her, or even dragged her ass from the bush - No, he had taken a deep breath and thought things through. Better yet, the blatant bribery had worked.

He just hoped the talk about the cussing had done the trick. Storm might have thought he wasn't dad material and he agreed with her to an extent, but the only opinion he was interested in was the little girl's in the back seat.

"Grumpy, are we there yet?"

Logan peered at her in the rear view mirror hoping that she'd stop calling him by that name sooner, rather then later. "Not yet, Stripes."

He listened to her whisper to her dog, and narrowed his eyes. "I can hear every word you're sayin', little girl."

Obviously his 'talk' hadn't worked and apparently she thought he was an asshole too. Truth be told, he could be an asshole the majority of the time. However, he would have preferred it not to be discussed between a four year old and a stuffed dog with suspected ancestors hailing from Scotland.

Not that he had a problem with Scotland at all. Sure the weather was crap there, it rained more then it needed to, and he was pretty sure they were lying about the _Loch Ness_ monster. On the other hand, he had never drank in a better bar and it was easy to develop a thing for their beer.

Where was he again? Oh yeah, his four year old kid had just called him an asshole.

"You're your own worst enemy, you know that right?"

"Ya talk funny." She giggled, shifting in her seat so she could see out of the window. "Ah want chocolate flavour ice cream and Paws wants bone flavour with chicken, cheese, gravy, chocolate chips, and fries on the side."

Flipping the indicator to the right, Logan exited the freeway and parked outside the diner. He switched off the engine, pocketed the keys and wondered whether Paws had hit his head when he had been thrown out of the window. That ice cream sounded like a Sabretooth special.

Turning round in his seat, he waited until her eyes met his. "Kid, we're goin' in the diner, you're gonna eat your breakfast, but you ain't havin' ice cream."

Logan counted to five, and true to form the crying started. "Ya said we could have ice cream!" Anna wailed, sounding as though he has just dashed all her dreams, canned every cartoon series and forced her to eat vegetables.

"I also told you not to say that word again." He snapped back, pointing a finger at her. "You break my rules, you live with the damn consequences."

Logan blushed slightly at the thought of the withdrawal of ice cream being a consequence. This dad stuff was kind of tough, and made him feel like a total idiot. It was also evident that he was starting to lose his cool, and the girl had inherited_ his_ temper.

Throwing the car door open, he leapt out, slammed it shut and began to pace the length of the parking lot. It was the perfect time for a cigar, and she'd calm down soon enough. He could hear her kicking the back of the seat with her bare feet, and prayed he had enough cigars to wait this one out.

She would calm down soon, wouldn't she? He only had twelve cigars left, for Christ sake!

* * *

_**Thanks to Starlight-The-Stripper, GhostAuthor, 3Blue3Moon3, Ele, raven34link, marshmallow jam, roguelover321, ady-ell, Ryromaniac, CurrentlyIncognito, Romy lover, Rogue river rat and Melinda DeLauro. **_

_**This chapter had me thinking and I remember once when I accidently (Yes, accidently) swore in front of a little kid. From that moment on they always used that word I accidently uttered, even though they didn't know what it truly meant. **_

_**I'm also liking bratty Rogue and yes, I realise that not everybody will feel the same way. But no child is going to change overnight, no matter who their parent is. **_

_**So the World Cup is over and that's all I'm going to say on the subject. We won't be talking about England's disastrous tournament in South Africa... Oh no. It will never be mentioned by me again. In fact, I don't even remember watching the matches, shouting at the TV and being crushed when we were beaten badly by Germany. **_


	7. One Small Apology For A Girl,

_**Apologies for this taking over twenty days to finish and post. Sometimes I just vanish off the face of the Earth, or get snowed under by real life. Annoying, I know. In fact, it's that cold here at the moment, I wouldn't be surprised if it did snow. **_

_**Thanks to the following that have reviewed, you guys make me smile. A lot: Indigo-Night-Wisp, 0Pyromaniac0Supergirl0, DaNoseKnows, ororomunroe531, Ryromaniac, aiRo25, 3Blue3Moon3, Raven34link, Roguelover321, Ele, Ace-Of-Cyberspace13 and Starlight2Twilight who in no way shape or form likes baby oil or glitter ;) **_

_**Also a thanks to those adding this to their favourites and alerts.**_

* * *

**One Small Apology For a Girl, One Giant Leap For Brat Kind**

**

* * *

**

There should have been a bench here. One that pissed off, wannabe dad's could wallow on when they realised that spending most of their life screwing around with women was a mistake. A _huge_ mistake.

He had really beaten the bullet when it came to taking responsibility the first time around, so perhaps this mess was retribution for all that he had done wrong in his life.

Taking a lazy drag from his cigar, his scowl deepened as he listened to the kid's tantrum intensify. Crouching down to sit on the curb, he checked his watch and sighed. It'd been ten minutes, and the scent of the freshly grilled steaks was making him restless.

He understood anger and the need for expression, but this had started over ice cream and had evolved into a battle of the wills. This was one fight he was going to win and he'd celebrate with the largest, juiciest steak he could find.

A middle aged couple parked in the empty space beside his heap, and his ears perked as they voiced their horror, disapproval and eventual relief that she wasn't their daughter.

He growled when they walked by, even though part of him agreed with their assessment. She was a brat, she was spoilt and her voice did carry across the parking lot. In fact, Logan was surprised that nobody had called the cops, or reported him to child services yet.

* * *

Anna fought with the seat belt, and screamed in frustration, her little legs beating against the seat in front. She was at a loss, and wouldn't stop until she had won.

She scratched and clawed at the belt, not liking the feeling of being controlled. Grumpy had tied her up, taken away her ice cream before he had even bought it and left her here. It scared her, angered her, and she didn't want to be forgotten. Even worse, what if her and Paws weren't allowed ice cream ever again?

"Let meh outta here!" She shrieked, kicking the seat as hard as her feet would let her.

But still Grumpy didn't return and she was starting to tire. Rubbing her eyes, Anna began to bite the belt and hoped she would chew through it before her ice cream melted, or was eaten.

* * *

Logan's cigar hung loosely from his lips, and his muscles tensed when he caught the whiff of an unwanted guest. "What the hell do you want, Raven?" He growled, annoyed that she had chosen today of all days to return.

Mystique smiled, tucking the blonde ringlets behind her ears and sat beside him. "I just thought you would get a kick out of seeing my new hairstyle, that's all." She replied, her words dripping with sarcasm. "Oh, and I seem to have misplaced your father of the year award. But, from what I've witnessed so far, I won't be needing it."

"You any idea what she's put me through? The kid bites, screams, cries over nothin' and is this close to gettin' put up for adoption."

Raven waved her hand at him and scoffed. "And now you know what I went through."

He blinked at her, and chewed on his cigar thoughtfully. She didn't care about the kid, this was all just a game for her and with him at the centre. "Get outta here, you good for nothin'…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What's with all the hostility?"

Logan raised an eyebrow at her, staring her down.

"I meant, what's with the new level of hostility? I understand that we have never really seen eye to eye, but there's no longer a Brotherhood, you and your little bunch of friends have stopped playing dress up, which I'm personally pleased about because that ridiculous costume of yours made you look rather podgy." She clarified, crossing her legs and placing her hands in her lap. "Why are you glaring like that?"

He flicked his cigar to the ground and crushed it under his boot. He definitely didn't look podgy, fat, or resemble a beer barrel in that damn outfit of his. "It weren't a costume." He grumbled, attempting to claw back his manhood. "And you really need a list of reasons why I don't care for you?"

At the top of the list would have been her inability to recognise style when it kicked her in the bony ass.

"I'm the mother of your child, Logan. At least show me some respect and courtesy."

Logan snorted at that, lit another cigar and stood up. "Where the hell was my respect and courtesy, huh? You drag this kid up for a couple of years, dump her off with the Brotherhood, and even when she's livin' under the same roof as me, you still don't have the guts to spill. So don't preach to me, darlin'."

He turned his back on her and glanced over at the car. Stripes was quieter, but still pissed as hell. He figured he'd be lucky if she ever spat on his grave if it caught fire. Hopefully by the time he kicked the bucket, she'd either be her old moody self again, or would at least have learnt the error of her ways.

"It's been so long since you've called me darling, I'd almost forgotten you could be civilised." Raven commented poignantly, coming to a stop in front of him. "Everything could have worked out so differently between us both if the world hadn't gotten in the way."

He was silent, choosing to smoke instead of remarking on her corny, over-sentimental words.

"I'm running a little late for a meeting, I must dash. Remember that she's _just _a small child, and her mother's daughter. If you hurt or traumatise her in anyway, you'll have me to deal with me. Now try to behave yourself, Logan. I'll be keeping an eye on you both."

Logan watched her fly away, the shape shifting woman he'd once bedded was now well and truly under his skin again. She was a damn annoyance, but a fine one at that. He knew he shouldn't be looking after everything she'd put him, Stripes and the Elf through, and he was acting like a horndog.

No, he wasn't going to touch it, that, her. She was off limits and was going to stay that way.

Oh well, another cigar smoked and he was about ready to eat a horse, use the cart as fire wood, and gut the hell out of the farmer just because he smelt good. This crap was really starting to get to him.

* * *

Storm crossed her legs, the hustle and bustle doing little to distract her from Remy's toilet, shopping and eating habits.

The boy's behaviour could be quite peculiar at times. They had arrived at the Bayville mall without incident, then decided to drop by the food court. All had been well until she spotted him sneaking great portions of his breakfast into his lap with an infectious grin.

She has asked him what he was doing, and he'd replied that he was saving it for later. That saddened her deeply, and she realised the child had really been through too much. He knew what it was like to feel hunger, real hunger. The kind that destroyed your innocence and paved the way to a life of crime.

She knew it was absurd to be demanding such answers from a child his age, but she needed to ask anyway, if only to soothe her own conscience. "Remy, where are your parents?

He glanced up, a plastic fork in his hand. "Don' got parents."

Storm waited for the tears, and was shocked to find that he was smiling. "But who do you live with?"

"De boys, dey be a gang an' dey teach me things."

"A gang?" She spluttered, conscious of the looks they were receiving from fellow dining guests. "What on earth do they teach you?"

"How t'turn stuff into money. It be really fun, y'want me t'teach de game t'y Stormy?" Remy replied, his mouth full of butter milk pancakes and maple syrup.

Stealing, he had to mean stealing. How could anybody teach a four year old how to steal? It was immoral and ever so wrong. Yet, they must have had their reasons. It was better to eat, then die of starvation she supposed and these were just the words of a child. He might have misunderstood what was happening. That was a plausible enough explanation.

She liked to think that Remy hadn't begun to steal until he was fully grown, and stupid enough to think he was living up to his full potential. She always knew there was more to the young man then what the X-Men were witnessing. He wasn't just a stalker, he was a gifted boy. One that could have become the President of the United States if he had put his mind to it.

Storm smiled back at the boy, and sipped her ice tea. "We still need to buy you more clothes. We've already bought five pairs of shoes, nine waist coats, four ties, and a navy blue blazer but…" The smile fizzled away as both of Remy's palms hovered over his half eaten breakfast. Dwarfing his small and sweaty hands was one cellphone, a twenty dollar bill, a packet of gum and a set of car keys attached to a _BMW _keyring.

"See, Stormy, it be a real fun game once y'get practice."

* * *

Anna must have fallen asleep, because when she woke up the car was moving and Grumpy was there. She had hoped Paws had finally learnt to drive, but he was sitting in her lap quietly. A little too quietly, so she shook him awake and told him off for sleeping on the job.

The belt was still strapped around her, and her mouth tasted yucky. She really would have loved some chocolate ice cream right about now. So closing her eyes, she wished and wished for some ice cream.

"Stripes, here, take this." Grumpy said, disturbing her from the conversation with her fairy godmother.

She glanced up and took the brown paper bag from his outstretched arm.

It had worked, it had really worked for the first time ever. She couldn't believe it, her wish had finally worked. Her Mama had been right, there was always someone watching over her to make sure she was safe.

Hungrily tearing open the bag, the girl placed Paws beside her and dumped the contents all over her lap. There were fries, a box with chicken nuggets in and the drink was leaking all over the floor, but where was the ice cream?

"Ya got it all wrong, Grumpy." She tried to explain without calling him a horrible name. "There's no ice cream."

"I've already told you, no ice cream." He growled, not even bothering to turn around.

"That's rude, ya supposed tah look at meh when ya talk. Didn't ya Mama teach ya no manners?"

"Kid, just drop it."

Anna gazed down at the drink leaking on the floor, then at the food in her lap. Grumpy must have been crazy like his Mama had been. "Buy mah drinks already been dropped."

"Damn it, I've just had this hunk of junk cleaned," Grumpy grumbled, still not bothering to turn around and face her. "You're really pushin' your luck, Stripes."

It had only been an accident, why did he sound so angry? He always sounded angry when he spoke to her and it was hurting both hers and Paws feelings. She didn't mean to be bad all the time, she really didn't. But sometimes her brain did things on it's own without her saying yes. Just like the time she painted her Mama's car with finger paints.

"Ya Mama must be rude like ya, too."

"Kid, you ain't got a leg to stand on with your Mom." He snapped back, while she continued to huff in response. "She didn't bother teachin' you any manners, and you're a spoilt brat because of it. So don't get all high and mighty with me…"

Anna Marie had done many a stupid thing in her four and a half years, but she had never, ever done anything like this. She knew it was wrong, she knew he would be mad, and she knew his head might explode. In fact, she hoped his head would explode because it would stop him from being mean to anyone else.

She spotted the box of chicken nuggets, picked them up and threw them at Grumpy in anger. She'd been left here by her Mama, Grumpy didn't want her and Paws hadn't been talking to her since he had fallen from the window. It was horrible not being wanted, or loved. Everything was horrible and she hated it.

* * *

Storm began to suffer from yet another migraine. How hard could it be to explain why stealing from others was wrong? Apparently, it was very difficult indeed if the last half an hour was anything to go by.

"Remy, you can't take other people's possessions. It's called stealing and it's wrong."

The boy gazed at her with confusion written all over his face. "Y'be crazy." He responded, as she inspected a rail of children's waterproof raincoats. "An' dis be borin'."

She had handed in Remy's loot at the lost and found, after prying it free from his fingers. It had been quite the fight and she'd quickly discovered a different side to him. Gone was the polite little man from this morning, to be replaced by a boy who turned his nose up at every piece of clothing she picked out.

"It's a necessity, you can't walk around naked for the rest of your life." She told him, holding the coat against his chest and shaking her head. "No, I think the black might suit you better."

"Why not? Dere ain't nothin' wrong wit' bein' naked is dere?"

Now that was a question. A very interesting question with many different answers.

"There's a time and a place for everything," Storm replied, adding the black coat to the shopping cart.

"Even stealin'?" Remy asked, dragging his feet behind her.

She pushed the cart towards the sales department, her temples aching with every step she took. "No, there isn't a place in society for stealing because it's wrong. It's so wrong, that bad people get sent to jail because of it." Stopping beside a table covered with neatly folded patterned jumpers, she idly wondered how Logan was getting on. "What about this… Remy? This isn't funny, Remy, now where are you hiding?"

* * *

Logan stood beside a shoe rack, the smell of cheap leather and plastic marching up his nostrils, and attacking his brain. He glanced at the ticket he held in his calloused hand, and sighed. They were number thirty eight, and that meant one of the useless knuckleheads that worked here would serve them next. Finally.

His kid sat directly in front of him on one of a long line of red chairs, her face almost hidden behind her hair. She was giving him the silent treatment, and he didn't mind one bit. He liked the silence, he could hear himself think.

"Number thirty eight?" A spotty boy called, and Logan beckoned him over.

"The girl needs shoes, probably a few pairs." He explained, pointing at the sulking mini Southerner.

The guy looked at the girl's bare feet, then at Logan again. "But she's crying."

Wolverine arched an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "You'd be too if I'd whacked you one." He growled, daring the little punk to speak up and voice his disapproval. "And cryin' kids still need shoes, right?"

"Um, yeah, you're right. Do you know what size feet she has?"

Logan shook his head and the guy got down to work, measuring feet and whatever the hell else he did in this damn place. He hated malls, shopping and crowds but the kid needed shoes, and a million other things. He'd acted like an idiot earlier when Raven had popped in for a chat, there was no talk of reversing Rogue back to normal. No, he'd just argued about old times, damn it. He hadn't even asked why she hadn't bought the girl a single pair of damn shoes.

Watching Stripes sitting there silently for a change, if you didn't count the sniffling, he felt no guilt whatsoever. He'd walloped her good and proper after the chicken nugget incident. Yeah, it had been out of anger, but he'd nearly lost control of the car when he'd been showered with chicken nuggets. It wasn't everyday a back seat driver wanted to put their two cents in, especially not to him.

The guy with the cratered moon for a face, told him he would be back shortly and Logan decided to sit beside his daughter. He probably needed to explain a few things to her, instead of letting the tears continue to fall. He never liked to see her cry, _never_.

Brushing the hair from her tear stained face, he sighed to himself. "What you did earlier, Anna, it was dangerous. We could've both been killed."

She looked up at him with watery eyes, biting her lower lip. "Ah'm sorry, Grumpy."

At first Logan thought he'd misheard her, then she muttered it again and her words were instantly followed by a new set of tears. Lifting her into his lap, he hugged her close, not caring if there were witnesses. "Hey, come on now, Kiddo,"

"Do ya hate meh now?"

He loosened his grip, and his eyes met hers. "It's over and done with now, darlin'," She didn't seem relieved at that, so he elaborated further. "I'd never hate you, no matter what you did. And trust me, you've done a hell of a lot to me over the years."

"But ya hit meh," The girl told him solemnly, drawing a few curious stares his way.

Raking a hand through his hair, Logan tried in vain to explain his actions and ignore the stares. "Look, it ain't hittin', it's, well…" She was sitting waiting patiently for his response, and he was struggling to form a valid sentence that a kid her age would fully understand. "It's somethin' adults, mostly parents do to tell their kids they've stepped outta line, and they ain't happy about it."

"Ah ain't happy about it neither."

"The guilty party never is, Stripes."

* * *

Storm was seconds away from having a full blown panic attack. She had lost Remy, that poor defenceless little boy was wandering around alone, and lost somewhere. He was probably attempting to find her right this second, at least she hoped he was. If he was off stealing more items, she would die of shame. Even if she wasn't his mother, it was still an embarrassment.

She had never felt fear like this, losing a child in a department store was terrifying. Forget about her claustrophobia, this was one hundred times worse. What if he'd been kidnapped? The Guild might have found out about what had happened, or Magneto might have been up to his old tricks again.

Almost tripping over her shopping cart as she expertly weaved around a family, she stopped to ask them if they'd seen anyone fitting Remy's description. They hadn't.

What right did she have to be a surrogate mother to anybody? She couldn't even keep track of one small boy in a store with five floors, four elevators, changing rooms, restrooms, offices, and an enormous warehouse where they housed the stock.

He had to be here somewhere, maybe he was playing a simple game of hide and seek? Yes, that must be what was happening, and he'd just forgotten to tell her that she was it.

* * *

Anna skipped alongside Grumpy, trying to keep up with his legs. He had hugged her in the store when she was sad, and she had been sad. She knew she had been really naughty and felt bad about it. But as Grumpy had said; it was all done with now.

Her poor chicken nuggets couldn't be eaten either, they'd been thrown into a field. Every last one of them had flown through the sky like they'd had wings. Chickens did have wings, didn't they? So chicken nuggets would have them too. Maybe they had flown by themselves when Grumpy tried to strangle them.

Smiling down at the new shoes she was wearing, she held onto Grumpy's jacket sleeve. Her shoes were the best ever. They were purple, shiny and had silver buckles. She's also been bought two other pairs, including a pair of Barbie sneakers that lit up, and some girly socks with hearts on.

"We need to go dump these bags in the trunk, Stripes." Grumpy announced, placing a free hand on her head, and pulling her closer to him. "Stay close, you hear."

She obediently stayed by his side, scared that she'd be stood on by one of those tall people that kept bumping into her. Everybody looked different, and that was kind of strange. There were different hair colours, skin colours, some were fat, others were really skinny and some wore really ugly clothes.

Anna was about to ask why that was, when she spotted somebody she knew in the crowds.

Pulling Grumpy's jacket, she made him stop and he had to apologise to the people behind them. "There's Remy," She cried, pointing him out to Grumpy, "and that guy's hurtin' him!"


	8. The Cowgirls Cooties

_**As I write this, I have my window open, it's raining outside and I can hear a kid screaming. I can't actually repeat the exact words, because this is only rated a T… But, what a tantrum. All in all, this is a quiet area, except for today. It makes we wonder where kids that age hear the language? **_

_**I probably sound like one of those ancient, disapproving old prunes… And there he goes again. It kind of puts me off ever wanting kids of my own. If I was his mum, I'd be pretty embarrassed right about now. I swear he's trying to smash her car window or something. **_

_**Edit: He was trying to smash her car window with a rock. Strangely the mum reacted by shutting the front door and leaving him out there to carry on!**_

**_Thanks to the following reviewers: aiRo, TheBlueFoxtrot (crazy new name!), ororomunroe, S2T, Raven34link, Ryromaniac, Ace, Roguelover, Duckmasta, MistySnape and Mystique84 (who I forgot to thank last time, sorry!) _**

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* * *

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**The Cowgirls Cooties**

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* * *

**

Logan looked, Logan saw and Logan smirked. "Yeah, that's Gumbo," He answered, eyeballing the kid getting manhandled through the crowds. Holding all four bags in his left hand, he wished he hadn't bought those two pairs of boots for himself. He hated hauling unnecessary crap around with him. "Come on, we're wastin' time standin' here."

He began to walk, then immediately stopped when he noticed mini Stripes was still watching the show. Doubling back, and having to side step a great many impatient bastards, he stopped in front of her and deliberately blocked her view. "I said, come on." And still she didn't move, what the hell was the matter with her?

"Didn't you hear me?"

Anna gazed up at him and grinned impishly. "Ah heard ya," She replied, peering around his leg and taking hold of his hand. "He went _that_ way!"

He didn't move an inch, despite her pulling him with both hands, "The car's _that_ way, Stripes."

She blinked at him and began to pout, "But ya said ah had tah stay close."

"Then do as you're told and stay close."

"No, Grumpy, ya gotta come with meh cause' ah need tah save him."

Logan shook his head in disbelief and snorted. He couldn't quite believe this, was she for real? "Kid, this is karma, you can't save someone from karma."

She squeezed his hand, and took a step closer to him, "Why?"

"Because, you can't." And with that said, he started to tug her alongside him. He only wanted to dump these bags off, finish off the rest of their shopping then get out of here. It would probably have been a good idea to pop into the bar too, seeing as he was the boss and all.

"That's no reason."

"It's a damn good reason if you ask me."

They turned the corner, the exit was in sight and Logan breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want any hassle, they were connecting and he was starting to like the girl. She had grit, and fire in her belly, all were family traits that raised hell come the hormonal years.

"Grumpy," Stripes called, narrowly avoiding bumping into the family in front. "What's karma?"

"Karma?" He repeated, pausing to think for a moment. "It's a word that means, I didn't get there first."

She nodded her head, and continued to skip along. He liked this, it was much easier to explain something to a four year old Rogue, then the older, angrier more violent and vocal variety.

"Grumpy?"

"Yeah?"

"Is karma gonna come get meh?"

Grumbling at the backs of idiots that should have been in school, rather then hanging around the middle of the damn mall, Logan looked down at Stripes. "No, darlin', it won't get you. Not while I'm around."

"So why ya lettin' it get Remy?" Her innocent question made him feel uncomfortable, and he tried to shrug off the bad feelings that were stirring. "He's the same as meh."

"Yeah, how so?"

"Well, he's naughty and likes cookies too, and ah'd be scared if karma tried to take meh, he looked scared. He looked _really_ scared, don't ya think?"

He was at least five steps away from the revolving doors, he was so close to leaving the boy there to get what was coming to him. And then she had to open her mouth, and he just had to listen. "You might be right, Stripes," He muttered, "You might just be right."

* * *

Anna had hated that Remy boy, she really had. But when she saw that man dragging him and the way the silly boy was trying to run away, she felt sorry for him. It wasn't nice being in trouble with an adult, it was scary and made her tummy feel funny.

That must have been how he was feeling and she wanted to help him. Karma sounded really creepy, and she couldn't beat it on her own, so she needed Grumpy to do it for her. He was an adult and had those knives, he was perfect.

Now they were off walking quickly. Grumpy called it, 'following the trail,' she didn't understand because she couldn't see a trail, it must have been something only adults could see.

"Keep up, Stripes," He said to her, and she frowned.

"Keep what up?"

There wasn't anything to keep up, not even a kite. She didn't think many people played with kites inside, there wasn't any wind. Maybe if they opened all the windows and doors, there would be enough wind to fly a kite in here.

"They went down that corridor, over there."

She looked at where he was pointing at, and followed closely behind him, very close. Anna didn't like being lost, she had once lost her Mama and didn't stop crying until she'd been found. That day had lead to ice cream, but she didn't dare get lost with Grumpy, he had told her to stay close.

They came to a door and it had some big writing on it, she only knew that it didn't say her name and there was a lot of letters on there because it was a very large door. She heard Remy shouting from inside, "Quick, they're hurtin' him." She whined, pushing Grumpy closer to the door, "Do somethin'"

"Yeah, yeah, alright," Grumpy sighed, knocking on the door loudly, "I can't believe I'm doin' this."

Anna hid behind his leg as the door opened, and Karma started telling them both off. Creeping out from behind the safety of her hiding place, she shook her finger at the man with the hat, "Mr. Karma, don't tell Grumpy off, he can't help bein' rude."

Mr. Karma only stared at her and she was told to be quiet by the guy who was supposed to be her Daddy. Her Mama had obviously got it wrong, he wasn't a Daddy, he was a big grump with teeth and hair.

She refused to sulk by his side, so walked past Karma and into the room. It was small and Remy was sitting in a chair by the desk. "You're in sooooo much trouble," Anna teased him, crossing her arms.

Remy leapt off the seat, and ran to her. "Y'come t'save me?" He squeaked, glancing from her to the men arguing at the door. "Where's Stormy? She ran away wit' de shoppin' cart an' clothes."

"Ah dunno, maybe she went away cause' you're _really_ annoyin'."

Mr. Karma and Grumpy stepped into the room and the door was shut. She wandered closer to the desk, picking up pieces of paper and ignoring Remy's chatter.

"So, Mr. Howlett, you know this boy?"

"Yeah, I guess I know him."

There was squiggly writing all over the papers and her fingers smudged the letters. She was bored now, it was fun at the beginning when they were chasing after them, but now it was too grown up. The funny thing about grown ups was they talked too much, they were always talking, shouting, or growling.

"Stripes, quit touchin' everythin' and get over here."

They were always telling people off, too. Was there ever a happy grown up? Grumpy was never anything but a grown up, he didn't smile, laugh… He didn't even sing and everybody sang. Even her Mama sang when she was in the shower. So, her Mama was different to a normal grown up, but Grumpy wasn't. Yeah, that made perfect sense to her and she would never grow up, just in case she turned into her Daddy, instead of her Mama.

Doing as she was told, she leaned against Grumpy's leg and huffed against the denim. Mr. Karma took of his hat and jacket, hanging them on hooks. "You don't know the boy then?"

"Look, I know him, okay? I wouldn't be standin' here if I didn't damn well know him."

"There's no need to take that tone, Mr. Howlett, we can't be too careful these days."

Anna rolled her eyes, listening to the voices getting louder and louder. Why was she told off when she shouted at someone, but they weren't? It wasn't very fair, and they needed telling. She didn't think they would hear her though, Grumpy had put his bags down and was shaking his fist at Mr. Karma now.

"I. Know. Him."

"I'm not quite sure I believe your claim. Do you even know the girl?"

"You tryin' to be funny!"

"Please, calm yourself, or I'll have to radio for back-up."

Remy came to stand beside her, and they both watched Grumpy's face turn red. Anna recognised _that _face and thought that Karma was a very stupid man, he was going to be hit any minute now, she was sure of it.

Mr. Karma crouched in front of her and started talking in a baby voice, "You don't need to be scared now, I just need to ask you a few questions."

"Why ya talkin' that way?" She asked him, snuggling closer to Grumpy's side and wrinkling her nose at him.

Grumpy growled and stepped further towards Mr. Karma. "She's _my_ damn kid…"

"What's her full name, then?"

"Anna-Marie Howlett."

"Nu-uh," Anna declared, shaking her head, "That's wrong. Mah name's Anna Darkholme." She didn't like the Marie part, and she knew for definite her second name wasn't Howlett.

"And what is _his _name?" Mr. Karma questioned her, pointing at her Daddy.

"That's easy," She replied, watching her Daddy suddenly grin, "His names Grumpy."

Karma said he needed to use the radio and Grumpy kept pulling his hands through his hair and talking to himself. "Listen here, and listen good. She's _my_ God damn kid, I'm her Father and she's a pain in the butt just like her Mother was before her!"

"If you truly are her Father, then can you answer me this, Mr Howlett," Grumpy glared, and her and Remy began to back away in case there was a fight. "What is her date of birth, and what hospital was she born in?"

Grumpy began to stutter and use bad words, "Well… How the hell should I know? It must've been, Jesus, when did me and Raven break it off? And the hospital was in Mississippi somewhere, I guess. She has an accent, don't she?"

"Exactly, Mr. Howlett, this is all just guess work."

Remy elbowed her in the side as the arguments started again, "He called y'a pain in de butt."

He was right, she had been called a pain in the butt. "Grumpy…?"

"Not now, Stripes!"

Remy jumped at the gruff bark, and Anna giggled at his reaction. "If ya jumped any higher, ya would've hit the moon."

"I've already been t'de moon."

"How come?"

Grumpy and Mr. Karma calmed down and each sat in a chair by the desk. She always knew her Daddy could play nice if he tried, she was very proud of him. Now the Paws hating boy was telling her he had been to the moon. She'd only ever been to a place called Hawaii, and that was on a big metal bird with wings, not a rocket.

"Cause' I'm de best, an' de best get t'walk on de moon." Remy told her, taking large steps around the room in slow motion. "De first from N'Orleans t'pee on de moon, an bury de treasure."

She followed after him, "There's treasure on the moon?"

"Course, I buried it dere an' only I know where it is. Y'borrow other peoples stuff, den sell it when it ain't hot no more. De moon ain't hot, so it be de perfect place."

"Wow…" She gasped, gazing up at the ceiling and picturing the moon. There must have been so much treasure on there. "What do ya mean, borrow people's stuff?"

Remy's smile faded, and his voice dropped to a whisper. "Can't tell y'now, dat guy be like a cop, Stormy said I'd have t'live in jail if dey caught me. An' dey wouldn't have fried chicken in jail."

Anna's eyes widened and she thought back to the poorly Paws she had left in the car. Her best and only friend was sick because he'd been thrown out of the window by Remy. Storm said he would have to live in jail if Karma said so and her small plan grew as she wandered over to Karma's chair.

Tugging on his sleeve, she interrupted him in mid-sentence and cleared her throat. "Excuse meh, Mr. Karma," She said bravely, "But ya need tah take both of them tah jail right now."

The man stopped what he was doing and turned to face her, "Do you have something to tell me, Anna?"

"Kid, whatever you're tryin' to do, don't."

"Mr. Howlett, please don't discourage her. Your lawyer's going to have a difficult enough time as it is."

She was beginning to like Karma, he could make Grumpy stop talking just by speaking words and being really polite. "Yeah, don't discubbage meh, Ah gotta stand up for mah friend that's not here and they were both really mean tah him."

"Really?" Karma gasped, reaching for a paper and pen. "What happened to this friend of yours?"

Walking to Grumpy, the Southerner watched as he pinched his nose and huffed at her. "He went crazy!" She cried, pointing at him so Karma understood. "Grumpy kept tryin' tah eat Paws and wouldn't stop bitin' his head!" She then waved her finger at Remy, whose hand's abrupt stop at the door handle was noticed by all. "Then today, that one threw him outta the window. They've both gotta go live in jail forever and ever without a key tah the door or fried chicken."

Karma only opened his mouth and shut it again. He put the paper and pen back down, stared at her and started laughing. He kept slapping his thighs and she thought he was going to choke at one point.

"Ah ain't bein' funny!" Anna cried, stamping her foot and placing her hands on her hips. "Ah hope ya swallow somethin' big and nasty, then someone tries tah bite ya head off too! Then ya won't laugh at meh cause' ya won't even have a mouth."

Her daddy tapped her on the shoulder and shook his head, "You've had your say, Stripes, now keep quiet." Grumpy raised his eyebrow and smirked at Mr. Karma, "You still say she's not my kid?"

* * *

Logan held Gumbo by the collar of his shirt, dragging him through the crowds and into the department store that Storm was supposed to be in. The damn woman had the nerve to cast doubt on his parenting skills, and yet she was the one that couldn't keep the Cajun in check.

It was easy not to lose a kid, you just ordered them not to wander off. If Stripes got lost, she'd stay lost because he was not going to set foot in that security office ever again. The guy in there was a few cards short of a full deck, as English as they came and as thick as one of the Half-Pints trifles.

The boy attempted to wriggle free from his grasp and he growled in warning. This day was by far the worst of his life, this was the exact reason why he'd never settled down and started a family.

"Dis was all Stormy's fault," Gumbo wailed, attempting to hang on to an old couples shopping cart. "She wanted more red panties t'go wit' de others!"

Logan grunted an apology at them and tried to prise the boys fingers loose. He was on the verge of calling it a day and leaving both brats here alone while he headed to the nearest bar. Stripes had tried to sell him down the river for nothing short of ten years hard labour in some bad assed jail, and Gumbo had caused all the trouble in the first place.

"You'd better let go, boy." He warned, close to losing his infamous temper and wringing the kid's neck.

Meanwhile, Stripes was busy standing on her tiptoes, pulling items out of the same cart and telling the couple she didn't like the look of the stuff they were buying, but they could be her grandparents if they bought her ice cream.

Knowing it would be a miracle if he stayed sane, a familiar whiff of rain, perfume and hairspray seemed to sever his murderous thoughts. "It's about time you showed up, Ro'." He grumbled instantly releasing Gumbo and turning his full attention to the kid he couldn't simply ignore, seeing as she was his responsibility and wouldn't have been here if he'd used protection.

Wordlessly snatching a pair of fluffy pink slippers from the girl's hands, he tossed them back in the cart and gestured for the couple to go away before he had to listen to anymore complaints. "And just where do you think you're goin'?" He demanded, grabbing hold of her arm when he spotted her stalking after the couple and their fluffy slippers.

Stripes gazed up at him with a stubborn look he knew all to well. "Ah wanna go live with them when ya go tah jail. They'll like Paws cause' he's fluffy too."

Logan sighed to himself, released the girl and gawked at the spectacle Storm was making of herself. "If you didn't want Gumbo back, you could have just said." He muttered, eyeing the tears rolling down her cheeks with astonishment. There was no need to cry over the situation, she was embarrassing herself.

Storm had scooped Remy up in her arms and was kissing the top of his head. "Don't be ridiculous, Logan, I'm just so thankful you found him and he's safe. I hope he wasn't any trouble."

"Trouble, hmm. The security caught him pervin' in the ladies changin' rooms, not to mention the junk he was helpin' himself too." He growled angrily, gathering his bags in one hand and Stripes in the other. "We're gettin' a visit from child services tomorrow at the latest, so how bout' you quit with the motherin', take him home and punish him cause' he's caused a hell of a lot more then trouble for us, Ro'."

Storm merely cuddled Remy to her. "Sweetie, why were you in the ladies changing rooms?"

"Dat was where dey were takin' de panties, an' all de ladies had fat butts when I put m'head under de curtain." The Cajun boy replied innocently, playfully tugging a lock of her hair. "Thought dey were y'Stormy."

* * *

There were two shopping carts full of stuff now, but Grumpy wouldn't let her push either one of them. He said she was too small and would probably try and run over his foot. She didn't know how he had known that and was sure he had special Daddy powers.

He wasn't anything like her Mama was. Her Mama eventually gave in when Anna threw her head back, screamed and stamped her foot if she wanted something. From her point of view, Grumpy was one of those assholes, although she had decided not tell him this time.

Rolling around in the middle of the toy aisle, she had scuffed her new shiny shoes in the process and carried on slapping her balled fists against the floor. She wasn't really crying, it was pretend without the pretty costumes and pirate sword.

Except there was a big problem because Grumpy wasn't here. He'd walked off with his shopping cart and Storm leaving Remy behind to stare at her. She doubted her tantrum was going to work if her Daddy wasn't here to see it.

"Why y'cryin' like dat?" Remy asked, sitting down beside her in the empty aisle.

Anna sat up and scratched her finger nail across the marks on her shoes. "Cause' that's what ya do tah get what ya want." She responded sadly, glancing at the _Puppy In My Pocket _she wanted really badly. "But ah don't get why it ain't workin'."

Remy scrambled to his feet and plucked the _Puppy In My Pocket _toy from the shelf. "If y'get it will y'stop cryin' an' play cowboys and Indians wit' me?"

She nodded her head and watched Remy rip the packaging open. "Y'promise?" He questioned her, the little puppies dropping into her lap. "Y'gotta be de cowboy an' dat's gonna be real hard cause' y'got cooties."

Smiling at him, she nodded her head and held the five puppies in her palm. One was super furry, and she knew the babies had to be put in water and they changed colour. "Wow, thanks." Anna replied, stuffing them in his pockets. "Ya gotta keep them safe cause' Grumpy might try tah eat them, he don't like dogs."

Remy shoved the empty packaging back on the shelf and looked like he was about to faint. "Y'got de cooties all over me now!" He shouted, wiping his T-shirt and pants with his hands, then running down the aisle. "Dey gonna grow inside of me an' turn me into a girl!"

Anna giggled as she ran after him and didn't even notice Grumpy at first. He was standing beside that Stormy woman and they both had their backs to her. They were in another part of the store probably arguing over the panties they were next to. Maybe she wanted to keep more out in the back yard and he said it wasn't a very good idea. They might get wet or muddy.

The cootie hating boy had crawled under one of the carts and was trying to hide from her. "Ah can see ya and you're gonna get it!" She roared with a big grin on her face, only to be caught on the arm again by Grumpy. He really was good at catching hold of her, he should have done it for a job and she bet he would have been paid trillions for it.

"Finished with the dramatics now, huh, Stripes?"

Anna was still watching Remy closely in case he tried to run. "What's a dramatic?"

Grumpy knelt down and put his hands on her shoulders forcing her to look right at him. "What you did back in that aisle, all the cryin' and carryin' on, it ain't gonna wash me with me, kid."

She stopped trying to sneak peeks at Remy and patted her Daddy on the arm. "Don't worry, Ah don't wanna take a wash with ya, silly. Ah just wanna play."

His eyebrow went a funny shape and he shook his head, "That's not what I… Forget it, just make sure you start behavin' and we'll get on fine."

Remy took that moment to wriggle out from the cart, stick out his tongue and run past them. "Can ah go now?" She asked Grumpy, her eyes following Remy to the other side of the panties.

"What for?"

"Ah gotta try and turn him."

"Turn him into what?"

Anna couldn't believe what she was hearing, how stupid could a Daddy be. "Into a girl, what else?"

He chuckled and ruffled her hair, the laughter making his face seem less like an angry, growling mask. "Go on, Darlin', go give him one from your old man."

She didn't stop to ask what he meant, he was only trying to confuse her again and she needed to turn Remy into a girl because girls were better then boys, everybody knew that. Skidding to a halt right in front of a badly hidden Remy, she held out her hand in the shape of a claw and began to growl at his feet, "Ah'm a cowgirl and Ah'm gonna give ya'll naughty Indians cooties!"

* * *

_**Have you ever seen those Puppy in the pocket toys? They're so cute, I wouldn't mind some at my age. Actually I did used to have some toys exactly like that back in about 92/93 but they never changed colour if I dipped them in water and I had a huge pink dog hotel to go with them. I swear kids are spoilt these days :P They have so much more choice. **_

_**And that's my trip down memory lane for today, LOL. **_

_**I'm quite happy with this chapter and pleased a friendship might just be developing between the mini Gambit and Rogue. **_


End file.
